Assam Residents Confirmed Safe Amid Nepal Flood Crisis
Safety Confirmed for Nine Assam Residents
Devastating flash floods swept through Nepal’s Rasuwa district on Wednesday. (Photo:PTI)
Guwahati, August 30: Authorities have confirmed that nine individuals from Assam, who were affected by the severe flash floods in Nepal, are safe. Efforts are ongoing to locate others who remain unaccounted for and to assist those stranded.
This confirmation includes seven individuals listed by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) and two others, Gautam Das and Gopal Debnath, whose safety was verified by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The ASDMA's latest report, dated August 30, identifies 16 individuals from Assam who were either reported missing or stranded in Nepal.
Among these, seven individuals—Soneswar Narzary, Pankaj Barman, Samar Bezbaruah, Dr. Tirtha Chaliha, Silva Marak, Sarbison Marak, and Elipson Sangma—have been confirmed safe, according to an ASDMA representative.
The remaining nine individuals, including Rhituopurno Brahma, Montri Basumatary, Rahul Daimary, Shatadal Nath, Pankaj Naug, Arun Mahanta, Dr. Dipali Sarkar, Manash Kr Ghosh, and Birson Sangma, are still awaiting confirmation of their safety.
Two additional names were mentioned after Sarma revealed on social media that he had communicated with eight Assam residents who were safely rescued in Nepal following the floods.
While six of the eight individuals named by the Chief Minister are also included in the ASDMA's safe list, Gautam Das and Gopal Debnath are not part of the authority's latest report.
“The two names, Gautam Das and Gopal Debnath, are not in our list. Perhaps the Chief Minister has reached out to them independently,” the ASDMA official stated.
According to Sarma, the eight rescued individuals are safe and were anticipated to return home on Sunday. He expressed gratitude to Varun Chaudhary, Executive Director of CG Corp Global, for his role in facilitating the rescue operations.
The Assam government established a dedicated help desk at Assam Bhawan on August 25 to support families seeking information about relatives potentially affected by the disaster.
An official from Assam Bhawan mentioned that information gathered from families is relayed to the ASDMA, which collaborates with district authorities to compile and verify details before sharing them with the Ministry of External Affairs and other relevant agencies.
“We receive calls from individuals reporting missing persons and provide these details to the ASDMA. They then coordinate with district authorities, compile the information, and share it with the Ministry of External Affairs and with us,” the official explained.
This outreach occurs as Nepal faces one of its most severe flood disasters in recent years. As of Sunday, the death toll from the flash floods had reached 724, with rescuers still working to locate nearly 2,500 individuals reported missing five days after the disaster.