16.5 lakh people hit by Assam floods, toll rises to 56; Kaziranga inundated

OVER 16.50 lakh people in Assam are affected by floods in 29 districts with the major rivers flowing above the danger level in the state.

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The death toll in this year's flood, landslides and storms has increased to 56.

An alert has been sounded in Kamrup district with the Brahmaputra, Digaru and Kollong rivers flowing above the red mark with vast tracts of land inundated. At the famed Kaziranga National Park, a total of 31 animals have died due to drowning, while 82 others have been rescued in the worst deluge in recent years, a park official said. Out of the 233 camps in the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, 95 were still inundated till Thursday evening as against the 141 during the day, the official said.