Flash floods, landslides: What's happening in Northeast as public infrastructure takes hit?

Flash floods and landslides have affected over 3,100 people across 14 villages in the Lower Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. District Information and Public Relations Officer (DIPRO) Augusti Jamoh confirmed that the disaster had caused extensive damage to wet-rice cultivation fields, private property, and public infrastructure across the Nari-Koyu assembly constituency.

In several villages, road connectivity has been completely cut off, leaving approximately 500 households isolated. However, no casualties or injuries have been reported so far. The district administration, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), state police and local volunteers have initiated extensive relief and rescue efforts. Authorities are working round the clock to restore damaged road links and reconnect affected areas.

Vehicles washed away

Residents also confirmed that several vehicles were washed away by the floodwaters, while numerous animals, including pigs and poultry, were killed. The calamity compelled many villagers to abandon their homes and seek refuge in nearby paddy-field huts, where several people remained stranded. Adding to the devastation, two houses were destroyed in a fire that broke out while the residents were away.

Meanwhile, the first wave of floods also affected over 22,000 people in Assam across six districts following days of heavy rainfall in the state, along with Arunachal Pradesh. Several visuals from Assam's Dhemaji district surfaced on social media showing several areas submerged after continuous heavy rainfall.

Heavy rainfall has also brought severe riverbank erosion, prompting a partial collapse of a railway bridge over the Simen River in Assam's Dhemaji district. In response, authorities have suspended train operations on the affected route, a Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) official said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he is keeping a close watch on the flood situation in Dhemaji district and has instructed two senior cabinet ministers to remain in the affected area to supervise relief, rescue and rehabilitation operations.