TheBrahmaputra floods refers to a catastrophic flood event that occurred in 2012 along theBrahmaputra River and its tributaries, as well as in subsequent years.
The 2012 Brahmaputra floods were an unprecedented flood event along the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries due to significantmonsoon rains inIndia,Bangladesh andMyanmar. 124 people were killed by the flooding and landslides, and about six million people were displaced. The worst hit area was the state ofAssam inIndia. Flooding significantly affectedKaziranga National Park, where 540 animals died including 16 rhinos.
In September 2011, the Brahmaputra River flowed through braided channels, but a year later, the channels could not be detected in the swollen river. During the monsoon season (June–October), floods are a common occurrence inIndia. Occasionally, massive flooding causes huge losses to crops, life and property.Deforestation in the Brahmaputra watershed has resulted in increasedsiltation levels,flash floods, andsoil erosion in critical downstream habitat, such as the Kaziranga National Park in middle Assam.[1][2][3]
Helicopters were deployed to drop food supplies to nearly 10,000 people in six villages where highway access was cut off by the flooding, about 550 km west of [Guwahati]
In 2013, the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries flooded, triggered by heavy rainfall at the end of June in the neighboring state ofArunachal Pradesh state through Brahmaputra river and its tributaries.[4] This series of floods submerged 12 districts out of 27 in the state ofAssam, where more than 1,00,000 people were affected.[5][6] The flood also affected Kaziranga National Park and thePobitora Wildlife Sanctuary where many animals moved to higher ground in order to save themselves from the flood.[7] The floods also affected some of the northern districts of Bangladesh, where 100,000 people suffered from a scarcity of food and pure drinking water.[8]
According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority's flood report as of 13 July 2013 totally 12 districts out of the 27 districts in the state were affected, the districts areBongaigaon,Chirang,Dhemaji,Golaghat,Jorhat,Kamrup,Karimganj,Lakhimpur,Morigaon,Nagaon,Sivasagar andTinsukia.
In which 396 villages affected and around 7000 hectares of agricultural land were destroyed. Many roads and bridges were washed away cutting all road links to rest of the state.[9] Eight relief camps have been set up inDhemaji andChirang districts where about 3,000 people have been given shelter. The flood victims claimed there were no river embankments at various places or those breached by earlier floods were not repaired.[10]
2015 Assam floods were floods in the Indian state ofAssam which were triggered by heavy rainfall at the end of August in neighbouringArunachal Pradesh state throughBrahmaputra river and its tributaries. The floods are reported to have caused the deaths of 42 people and numerous landslides, road blockages and affected 16.5lakh people in 21 districts.[11]
Flooding affected 2,100 villages and destroyed standing crops across an area of 4,40,000acres.[11][12][13][14] In theDhubri district alone, more than 400 villages are now almost impossible to reach making it difficult to send aid to the suffering civilians.[15]However, this is not the first time theAssam state has experienced destructive flooding; the region is possiblyIndia's most flood-prone state and has experienced at least 12 major floods since 1950.[16] Although always prone to floods, the frequency of disastrous floods was increased in the area after the1950 Assam-Tibet earthquake, also referred to as the "1950 Great Earthquake".[16]
The2016 Assam floods were caused by large rains over theNortheastern Indian state ofAssam in July 2016. The flooding had affected 18lakh people, and flooded theKaziranga National Park.[17] As of 1 August 2016[update], 28 people had been killed as a result of the flooding starting 17 July, according to a report by the State Disaster Management Authority.[18]
Thenorth-eastern states of India saw heavy rainfalls in July 2016. The state ofAssam faced around 60% more rains than it received in July 2015.[19] The rainfall resulted in flooding of various rivers and on 5 July theBrahmaputra River had crossed its danger mark level in the seven districts ofLakhimpur,Dhemaji,Nagaon,Jorhat,Golaghat,Morigaon andBiswanath.[20]
The floods have affected more than 16lakh human lives, and people choose to abandon their households and livestock, and escape with help of homemade rafts. Mobile phone networks, along with power transmission, have been hampered in many regions of the state.[17] Around 4,90,000acres of farming land was affected by the floods.[18] The Assam Branch Indian Tea Association (ABITA) has estimated a 21-30% crop loss ofAssam tea. The state ofAssam had produced 63.1crore kg of tea in a year
The floods have affected thePobitora Wildlife Sanctuary[20] and theKaziranga National Park, aWorld Heritage Site. As of 2 August 2016[update], around 300 wild animals have been reported to have drowned, while around 81 percent of the Kaziranga National Park was under water. This includes 21great one-horned rhinoceroses (Rhinoceros unicornis) and about 219Indian hog deer (Hyelaphus porcinus).[21][22] The park officially reported deaths of "11wild boar, nineswamp deer, sixsambar, threebuffalo, twohog badger, oneporcupine and onepython" in the time span of 25 July to 31 July.[22]
Officers and local people rescued 100 wild animals, including 9 rhinoceroses.[23] These were taken for treatment at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation located withinKaziranga.[22]
About 300 makeshift camps were erected to rehabilitate people displaced by the flooding.[17] Various schools were used as relief camps.National Disaster Response Force took up the relief works.[18] AnNGO named "Save the Children" worked for the rehabilitation of children and their families in the three districts ofDhemaji,Lakhimpur andMajuli.[24]
Seven public-sector oil companiesOil and Natural Gas Corporation,Indian Oil Corporation,Oil India Limited,Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited,Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited,Gas Authority of India Limited, andNumaligarh Refinery Limited donated a total of₹15 crore (US$1.8 million) towards Chief Minister's Relief Fund.[25]
The2017 Northeast India floods were caused by overflowing ofBrahmaputra river in the state ofAssam in July 2017 affecting four Indian states:Assam,Arunachal Pradesh,Nagaland andManipur.[26][27] As of 14 July 2017, at least 85 people were dead[28] as a result of the flooding and 4lakh people have been affected and 5,00,000 have been homeless.[29] Nearly 60 animals, mostly deer and wild boars, perished in the floods.[30]
The flood-affected 15 districts of Assam state that includesLakhimpur,Jorhat,Golaghat,Sivasagar,Cachar,Dhemaji,Karimganj,Sonitpur,Hojai,Biswanath,Majuli,Barpeta,Chirang,Nagaon andNalbari.[31] It has also inundated large tracts ofKaziranga National Park,Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary andNameri National Park.[32]
The state government of Assam set up 128 relief camps under the surveillance ofAssam Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal for people displaced, and has made arrangements for drinking water, food and medical teams and rescue goods. 154 people died due to drowning, electrocution and diseases caused due to water contamination.
Government has provided health and medical facilities in the state.[33]
The 2018 Floods in the Tributaries of theBrahmaputra affected 4.5lakh people across the districts ofDhemaji,Barpeta,Lakhimpur,Biswanath,Majuli andDibrugarh in the state ofAssam. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), total 12 persons lost their lives in the first wave of flood in the year. The floods inundated 11,243 hectares of agricultural lands with standing crops in four districts.[34]
The 2019 Brahmaputra Floods, till 16 July, affected a total of 52,59,142 people, 1,63,962.02 hectares of crop area, in 30 districts in the state ofAssam.[35] In the State, death toll rose to 59 on 20 July. At least 3,024 villages in the affected districts continued to be underwater and 44,08,142 people are hit inDhemaji,Lakhimpur,Biswanath,Sonitpur district,Darrang,Barpeta,Nalbari,Chirang,Bongaigaon,Kokrajhar,Dhubri,South Salmara,Goalpara,Kamrup,Kamrup Metro,Morigaon,Nagaon,Karbi Anglong,Golaghat,Jorhat,Dibrugarh,Tinsukia,Cachar andKarimganj districts.[36]
Notably, in this wave of floods, 2400 an endangered species ofIndian rhinoceros inKaziranga National Park were badly affected by the Flood.[37]
| Animal | Dead | Rescued |
|---|---|---|
| Rhino | 12 | 2 |
| Elephant | 1 | 1 |
| Hog Deer | 101 | 49 |
| Swamp Deer | 6 | 2 |
| Wild Bear | 9 | nil |
| Sambar | 9 | 1 |
| Others | 3 | 5 |
| Total | 141 | 60 |
In 2020, floods were caused due to heavy rain in Assam and rising level of water in Brahmaputra.[38] More than 30,000 were affected across 5 districts and crops were destroyed.[39] The floods also coincided with the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic in India in Assam.
Till July, the floods along with landslides affected 1.6 million people in 22 districts of Assam and casualties rising to 33.[40][41] 2 people died in Arunachal Pradesh due to landslide.[42] Around 2,200 villages were under water and 87,000 hectares of crop area was damaged, The water level was above danger mark in several cities.[43] More than 50 percent of the area of Kaziranga National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary are affected by floods forcing animals to move to other places.[44]
The floods in May, 2022 were caused due to above normal rainfall across the state.[45] As of 25th May, more than 6 lakh people were affected and 25 have lost their lives.[46][47] According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), thousands of villages and more than 60,000 hectares (600 km2) of crop area have been affected across the state. Authorities are running several relief camps and distribution centres across the state sheltering thousands of people.[48]
Railway lines were also affected due to flooding and landslides.[49]
