Nearly 70,000 people in five districts of Assam have been affected by a fresh wave of floods, the third one this year, which hit the state on Wednesday (October 12) following incessant rain for the past one week.

It has also taken East Siang district in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh in its grip.

The Met department has warned that there will be no let-up in the rain until Friday, while the Central Water Commission has said the water levels of the Brahmaputra, Subansiri, Brurhidihing, Dhansiri, Kopili in upper and central parts of Assam are rising. In lower Assam areas, floodwater levels in the major tributaries of the Brahmaputra, Puthimari, Pagladiya, Manas, Beki, Gaurang and Sankosh are also rising.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said 69,750 people from 110 villages of 11 revenue circles across Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Lakhimpur and Nagaon have been affected. “We are keeping a close watch on the flood situation in the state,” read an ASDMA bulletin. It has sounded an alert in the said districts.

The Dhemaji district along Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang district is the worst-hit with more than 38,000 people affected, followed by 27,119 in Lakhimpur. Dhemaji has the most number of villages (76) under water, with Sissiborgaon and Jonai sub-divisions badly hit. In Arunachal Pradesh, the East Siang district disaster management officer Tsangpa Tashi said the district headquarters Pasighat recorded 482mm of rainfall on Monday and 480mm on Tuesday, the highest in the last 25 years.