Floods in India’s Assam State Leave Over 100 Dead

More than 100 people have lost their lives in the recent floods in India’s northeastern Assam state, with officials describing the situation as the worst in about six decades. The devastating floods have left thousands of people displaced, with many still struggling to access basic necessities like food, water, and shelter.

According to eyewitnesses, the floods were sudden and unexpected, with many residents caught off guard. Rojo Neog, a resident of Assam, left his house on the evening of July 19 to buy candles after heavy rain knocked out electricity. As he rode back on his bicycle, the Dikhow River suddenly rose and the current intensified. Unfortunately, Neog was swept away by the floodwaters and his body was found three days later.

Climate Change and Human Activities Exacerbate Flood Risks

Experts say that climate change and human activities are making floods more unpredictable and destructive. Increasingly intense rainfall, sand mining, upstream deforestation, wetland loss, urbanization, and heavy reliance on embankments are all contributing factors. While flooding has long been a natural phenomenon in Assam, the changing climate and human activities are making it more severe.

Dr. Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the environmental group South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, emphasized the importance of understanding flood risks better in Assam. ‘Once we understand, we can also forecast well. Then we can prepare well and less people will be affected,’ he said. Dr. Thakkar added that India is very good at rescuing people or providing relief after the disaster, but is particularly bad in doing anything significant to reduce the possibilities of such disasters.

Each year from June to September, a series of heavy rains known as monsoons sweep through India, providing relief from heat, irrigating the country’s farms, and replenishing its rivers. However, as global heat increases, the rain is becoming more erratic and intense, creating the conditions for deadly floods. India, one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, is also among the hardest hit by climate change.

Assam state is among India’s most flood-prone, with about 40% of its land vulnerable to inundation from the Brahmaputra River and smaller rivers. The floods have displaced more than 700,000 people and submerged farmland, while damaging roads and other infrastructure. Although many residents have begun returning home as floodwaters recede, thousands remain in relief camps.

According to researchers, forecasting is only useful if information reaches the people at risk, they understand it, and have somewhere safe to go. Dr. Mirza Zulfiqar Rahman, an independent researcher who has studied the Brahmaputra, said warnings sometimes fail to travel from government offices into communities and are rarely paired with enough drills and preparedness. A recent report by World Weather Attribution said the flooding across Assam and neighboring northeastern states was worsened by rapid urbanization, deforestation, and local vulnerabilities.

Experts Call for Better Early Warnings and Long-Term Planning

Experts are now calling for better early warnings and long-term planning to mitigate the impact of floods. They say that Assam and other states upstream must move beyond spending millions of dollars on flood-control structures and relief toward better early warnings, scientific mapping of changing risks, and restoring the ability of forests, wetlands, and floodplains to absorb water.

Dr. Emmanuel Raju, director of the Copenhagen Centre for Disaster Research at the University of Copenhagen, said that true adaptation requires moving towards living with rivers through wetland restoration and proactive early action before floodwaters strike. Dr. Raju added that flood planning should follow the natural contours of river basins rather than state and international borders. Rainfall, deforestation, mining, and other changes upstream can alter how quickly water and sediment reach the Brahmaputra basin.

Nihal Ranjit, a climate and disaster expert at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, said that communities in historically flood-prone areas once structured farming and daily life around seasonal inundation. Climate change is pushing some events beyond what people are accustomed to and able to cope with, causing people to move. ‘This always existed, but climate change and climate impacts like floods are increasing this movement,’ Ranjit said.

As the situation in Assam continues to unfold, experts are urging the government to take a more proactive approach to flood management. By investing in better early warnings and long-term planning, they say that the government can reduce the impact of floods and save lives.