NOT JUST ANOTHER DELUGE

In a warming world, floods are no longer an annual affair in Assam, but a year-round crisis. As people struggle to cope with the new reality, some are already changing their cropping patterns and architecture

- AKSHIT SANGOMLA and SEEMA PRASAD in Delhi, SHAGUN and AATREYEE DHAR in Assam

ASSAM HAS been under waters for almost 100 days in a row since this year's first wave of floods broke the riverbanks on April 6. Over the next three months, the floods have swamped almost every village and affected every fourth person in the state. Though floods are an annual affair for Assam, the ongoing wave typifies the new normal that the state has been experiencing in recent years.

Typically, floods in Assam begin in June with the arrival of southwest monsoon. But lately, they have been occurring much earlier, lingering through the four-month monsoon season, sometimes continuing till October, and making more and more areas vulnerable to the disaster. In 2016, over 90 per cent of the state was in the grip floods that started as early as in April. The next year, the flood season began in March and continued till October, impacting more than 4 million people. In 2019, the flood season extended till November 1, making it the longest-lasting in recent times. The following year too recorded a similar prolonged flood season, affecting 5 million people, shows data with the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). In fact, an analysis of the eight years of flood data available with ASDMA shows that the state has been under waters for more than six months on three years-2017, 2019 and 2020, with the flood season lasting till October in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

UNFOLDING DISASTER

The ongoing floods have swamped all 35 districts of Assam and affected 1 in every 4 people

March 25

Heavy rainfall in Assam begin in the last week of March with 8 districts of the state recording large excess (over 60% more than normal) rains

April 6