GUWAHATI | Union Home Minister Amit Shah has directed an inter-ministerial central team to visit Assam to assess the damage caused by the ongoing floods and facilitate relief and rehabilitation measures, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.

The move comes amid one of the worst flood crises in recent years, which has claimed at least 41 lives and affected more than 6.5 lakh people across the state. Sharing the development on social media, Sarma said Shah personally spoke to him regarding the “unprecedented flood situation” in Assam and assured the Centre’s support in addressing the disaster.

According to the Chief Minister, the Union Home Minister informed him that an inter-ministerial team would soon visit the state to assess the extent of the damage and evaluate the assistance required for relief, rehabilitation and restoration of livelihoods. Expressing gratitude for the Centre’s support, Sarma said the floods, triggered by a cloudburst in upstream areas and intensified by heavy rainfall, have caused widespread devastation across several districts.

“The flash floods, triggered by a cloudburst upstream, have wreaked havoc on the lives of our people,” Sarma said, thanking Shah for standing with Assam during the crisis.

Highlighting the scale of the disaster, the Chief Minister said more than nine lakh people across over 1,800 villages in 25 districts have been affected by the floods. He added that thousands of livestock have also been lost, further aggravating the economic hardship faced by rural communities.

Sarma noted that upstream cloudbursts coupled with localised rainfall measuring nearly 436 per cent above normal levels led to extensive flooding, including in areas that had not witnessed such severe inundation in recent decades.

Rescue and relief operations are continuing on a war footing, with personnel from the Indian Air Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and various state agencies engaged in evacuating stranded residents and delivering emergency supplies.

The state government has established more than 148 relief camps, currently sheltering nearly 30,000 displaced people. Relief teams are distributing food, drinking water, medicines and other essential items across the affected districts. Officials said more than 3 lakh kilograms of rice and other relief materials have already been dispatched to the worst-hit areas, while additional supplies are being mobilised to meet growing requirements.

The Chief Minister also said the state government is working closely with the Centre and relevant departments to formulate a comprehensive long-term rehabilitation package for flood-affected families.

In addition, Assam plans to initiate structured discussions with neighbouring states once the immediate crisis subsides to strengthen inter-state coordination on disaster management, early warning systems and mitigation measures aimed at reducing the impact of upstream cloudbursts and flash floods in the future.

With several districts still reeling under floodwaters and relief efforts continuing across the state, the visit of the central assessment team is expected to play a crucial role in determining the scale of assistance required for recovery and reconstruction.