The Assam Floods

The annual floods in Assam cause a grave humanitarian crisis that affects an estimated 12 million people in Assam alone. Flood victims are rendered homeless and lose their livelihood. Crops, homes, livestock, food, belongings are washed away. The fragile agro-economic base of the region is destroyed by the floods. Crucial infrastructure such as roads, railways, drinking water supplies are also swept away, hampering relief efforts. Starvation and disease are major problems for the affected population after flood waters recede. The 2004 floods have been particularly devastating.

Date	Source	Link to story
	IFAW	Disaster Relief: saving the forgotten victims
30 July 2004	IFRC	Relief not reaching victims
29 July 2004	Press Trust of India	Flood toll reaches 218 in Assam
27 July 2004	New York Times	Asia Floods Kill 1, 000, Bangladesh Capital Swamped
26 July 2004	ESA - European Space Agency report	Relief not reaching flood victims
15 July 2004	BBC News	Flood relief efforts hit problems
15 July 2004	BBC News	The human cost of India's floods
15 July 2004	The Guardian (UK)	Millions left homeless in South Asian floods
12 July 2004	One World	Floods Wreak Destruction in India's Northeast
12 July 2004	Press Trust of India	Flood situation in Assam from bad to worse
14 July 2004	Washington Post	Monsoon rains bring more death and destruction to South Asia
6 July 2004	BBC News	Flash floods hit north-east India

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Flood victims carrying their belongings to a safer place at Kamalpur, Kamrup District on Friday. — UB Photos

Assam Disaster Management report from last year.

Flood is a regular natural calamitous phenomenon in the state of Assam. However, the current spate of flood is of unprecedented intensity and scale with all its curses on human beings and animals in a degree unequalled in previous few decades. All the rivers and tributaries of the state have contributed to the havoc. New areas have been dragged into the map of the seriously flood affected areas of the state. The current of the flood water entering into villages has belittled the embankments supposed to save the villages from flood. The suddenness of flood has left little time for preparation.

Loss of lives and property has crossed all previous records. Food stocks saved from last harvest for this period have been swept away, which will cause starvation of the farmers and rural poor for a long span of time to come. Standing crops have been destroyed in many areas. Import of food articles from outside also is rendered difficult and costly due to the breakage of road linkage to interior places. Loss of cultivable land to erosion and silt, loss of draught cattle and the seedlings raised for the ensuing agricultural season has ensured longer period of starvation especially of the large population of subsistence level farmers and poor agricultural wage laborers. The mothers, new-born and the children are going to starve to deadly malnourishment. As the flood water recedes, the rotten vegetation and animal corpses will harbor life taking germs leading to epidemics through contamination of air and water. Medicines are unaffordable to those who are already paupered by the present spate of flood. Thus the rural poor of the state is going to face a life situation which is no better than death in the days to come.

Social problems such as beggary, extortion, and worse - prostitution, which are already inflicting the rural poor are bound to increase as a result of the abject impoverishment caused by the current flood. Collected below are some news stories about the floods and their effects.

To learn what SPADE is doing to help flood victims, go to the Field Report page.