Severe floods in the tea-growing state of Assam in India and neighboring Nepal have killed at least 200 people and displaced millions, severely hampering efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
In Assam, heavy monsoon rains erupted on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, causing more than 2,000 villages to be engulfed in floods and landslides and displacing 2.75 million people in the past two weeks. 85 deaths have been reported in the state.
Keshab Mahanta, Assam’s minister of water resources, said: “The flood situation remains critical and most rivers flow threateningly above the danger mark.”
Authorities expressed concern that flooding and the hasty evacuation of millions of Assam residents would cause a significant increase in coronavirus cases in the northeastern state, known for its tea plantations. At this time, 50,000 people are sheltering in narrow relief camps, but due to the scale and urgency of the evacuations, officials admitted that physical distancing measures were not being applied.
Sanghamitra Sanyal, a member of the Assam flood management force, told Reuters: “It is difficult to impose social estrangement when people are ordered to stay away from the rising waters.
“We urge people to at least cover their mouth and nose with a clean cloth.”
The number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise rapidly in Assam, with more than 1,000 new infections reported daily, bringing the statewide total to nearly 25,000 cases. Last week, the total number of cases in India exceeded one million, making it the third most affected country in the world.
Officials from the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) urged authorities to address complaints that wasted and contaminated coronavirus residues, including used masks and other personal protective equipment, that were being washed in the flood waters in areas of Guwahati, the largest city in Assam.
Authorities confirmed that hundreds of animals had drowned in the floods, including nine endangered rhinos living in Kaziranga National Park, a Unesco world heritage site.
The Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, home to 2,400 of the single-horned rhinos, the highest concentration of them in the world, has been severely affected by flooding, with 85% of the park 407 miles square (1,055 square kilometers) submarine. Authorities said 59 of the 223 anti-poaching camps had been flooded and that the rhinos, among the dead animals, were Asian deer, porcupine and water buffalo.
Floods and landslides are an annual occurrence in Assam, but due to global warming, their frequency and intensity are increasing. This year’s monsoon rains have affected 28 of the state’s 33 districts, some of the worst flooding in years. Successive governments have made promises to strengthen the state’s flood defenses, but the projects have been caught up in corruption and inefficiency.
Nepal also suffered the brunt of the floods, with 110 people dead and 50 missing in the rising waters and landslides, while more than a million people were displaced. With heavy rains expected to continue in the coming days, authorities said the death toll would likely increase.
