Assam: Storm claims 14 lives, damages over 12,000 houses in 2 days

Rongali Bihu, the Assamese New Year, started on a sad note for people in many districts with heavy storms claiming 14 lives and damaging over 12,000 houses in 2 days, according to the state disaster management authority.

Severe storms lashed many parts of the state on Friday, the first day of the New Year, and on Saturday, affecting over 21,000 people in 12 districts.

According the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 8 people died on Friday—4 in Dibrugarh district, 3 in Barpeta and 1 in Goalpara. While the death in Goalpara was due to lightning, seven others in Dibrugarh and Barpeta were due to storm.

On Saturday, 2 deaths were reported from Baksa, 1 in Dibrugarh and 3 in Tinsukia districts. All the deaths were due to storms. Victims in Baksa and Tinsukia died after trees uprooted by storm fell on them.

A total of 7,344 houses were damaged (partially and fully) in the affected districts on Friday. The number was 4,768 on Saturday, according to the ASDMA report.

Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have been experiencing heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms since the beginning of this month leading to flooding and landslides in some areas.