Home Minister Amit Shah reviews flood preparedness

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday reviewed the preparedness to deal with floods that affect various parts of the country during the monsoon.

Every year, large areas of Bihar, Assam and other eastern states are inundated due to a rise in the water level of various rivers due to monsoon rains.

"The home minister chaired a high-level meeting here and reviewed overall preparedness for flood management in the country," a home ministry official said.

Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and a few other states also encounter landslides and other rain-related issues during the monsoon. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Jammu and Kashmir have also seen floods in recent years.

Union Minister of Jal Shakti C R Paatil, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, Secretaries of Ministries and Departments of Home, Water Resources, River Development, Earth Sciences, Environment, Road Transport, Chairman, Railway Board, officials of the NDMA among others attended the meeting.

Currently, several districts of Assam are facing floods with over 1.17 lakh people in 10 districts hit by the deluge. 

The flood waters have inundated 968 villages in 27 revenue circles in these districts, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a post on X.

The authorities are presently running 134 relief camps and 94 relief distribution centres, where a total of 17,661 people are taking shelter, he said.

The death toll in this year's flood, landslides and storm in the state has reached 37, while one person is missing, officials said.