At least 20 people have died in a series of landslides that took place in Assam of India on Tuesday. The dead are largely from three different districts of the Barak valley region in southern Assam. Several others are injured. Rescue teams have been rushed to the sites. The region has been experiencing heavy rains for the last couple of days.
Among those dead are seven people in Cachar district, seven in Hailakandi district and six in Karimganj district. Half of the dead are children, government sources said.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has issued orders to the district administration to step up rescue and relief operations and provide one-time compensation to the families of the people who died.
Massive landslides took place in two places in Hailakandi district, where seven people died, including five members of a family. Five others, who were injured, have been rescued, sources said.
In the neighbouring Cachar district, another seven people, all from one family, died. Rescue operations are continuing in the area, officials added.
In Rahimpur village of Karimganj district, another massive landslide killed six people, five of them from a single family.
Assam Forest minister Parimal Suklabaidya is already in the area and overseeing rescue operations.
Assam had struggled with flash floods for a week. The flood waters have been receding sinceMonday. At least nine people died in the floods.
According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), seven districts in the state are still dealing with flood, around 1.97 lakh people are still affected. Around 7,000 people are still in 45 relief camps and 25,000 hectares of crop land has been destroyed.
The state is also witnessing a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. Assam has reported 1,485 COVID positive cases, of which 1,194 cases are active. While 284 people have recovered, there have been four deaths, Reports NDTV.