Assam is facing one of its worst floods—with almost all districts having suffered from some level of flooding— yet eight of the 27 meteorological districts of Assam have received deficit rainfall, according to the India Meteorological Department (imd). This shows that while flood waters have inundated most parts of the state, rainfall was not well distributed. For instance, Nagaon and Morigaon districts have rainfall deficit of 50 per cent and 43 per cent respectively. But these districts are also bearing the brunt of extreme weather floods.
There were first three waves of floods that killed 115 people and affected 56,000 people, according to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority. The first wave of floods occurred at the end of May, when the southwest monsoon season had not even started. The second wave occurred at the end of June and the third in July. Till June 22, Assam had received 309 mm of absolute rainfall, which was one per cent more than the long-term normal— average of rainfall received over a 50-year period between 1951 and 2001—according to imd data. In the next two days, there was 34 mm of absolute rainfall, which increased the excess rainfall percentage to 2 per cent.
This story is from the August 01, 2020 edition of Down To Earth.
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This story is from the August 01, 2020 edition of Down To Earth.
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