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Assam Flood Situation & Its Impact

Multi-Cluster Emergency Need Information Assessed in times of COVID-19

 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH):


Problem of drinking water and the sanitation seems to be very grim in the floodplain areas caused by
the inundation in the districts including Jorhat and Golaghat oif Upper Assam region. The affected
people are taking contaminant water for drinking and other essential needs. All most in all the affected
places of the districts household handpumps are submerged under flood. The sanitation part is affected
badly as the situation is forcing people to go for open defecation. The WASH is in alarming condition
and need immediate attention of external support.

The existing water, sanitation and hygiene conditions are posing a major vulnerability in protecting
communities’ health during all infectious disease outbreaks, including the COVID-19 outbreak.
Current evidence indicates that the COVID-19 virus is transmitted through respiratory droplets or
contact. Contact transmission occurs when contaminated hands touch the mucosa of the mouth, nose,
or eyes; the virus can also be transferred from one surface to another by contaminated hands, which
facilitates indirect contact transmission. Consequently, hand hygiene is extremely important to prevent
the spread of the COVID-19 virus. It also interrupts transmission of other viruses and bacteria causing
common colds, flu and pneumonia, thus reducing the general burden of disease. Infected handpumps
due to submergence under flood in the past and open defecation pose a very grim situation in the areas.
Both the problem of drinking water and the sanitation seems to be very grim in the most affected areas
targeted under the project.

 Shelter:
Households of most flood hit area like Jhanjimukh, Mahuramukh and Bonkual of Jorhat and Golaghat
districts are completely and partially submerged under flood. The displaced families are installing
temporary shelter on the river bank embankment in a very dire condition. As of reports of 15 nd July,
roughly 1500 people are residing in the government recognized relief camps. There is no update
received regarding damage of houses from the villages as of time due to non accessibility to the area.

 Household Food Security and Livelihood:


The options for community livelihood have been damaged in some of the villages of the affected parts.
People have lost their seasonal implanted boro paddy, vegetable cultivation and kitchen garden. The
wage earners and poorest families have no any options for livelihood at this emergency moment. There
is report of submergence of granaries, destroying house paddy stock in the villages of the affected
areas. Food crisis at this point of time will result in possibility of nutritional deficit among the children
as post flood impact.

 Health and Nutrition:


From the field observation and interaction with the affected people there is report received on outbreak
of diseases like diarrhoea, discentry, fever, vomiting and skin infection etc. Mostly women and
children seemed to be very vulnerable in the midst of the pandemic COVID19 and exposed to health
complications of water infectious disease that may occur during post flood situation in the coming
days. Due to co-existence of human being and domestic animal in a specified space in embankment, a
very unhygienic state has been prevailing. The rate of morbidity may emerged that will occur out of
water borne diseases and diarrhoeal cases causing community health issue in the near future.

As the corona virus crisis unfolds, disruptions in domestic food supply chains and other shocks
affecting food production, and loss of incomes and remittances are creating strong tensions and food
security risks in many villages and communities. Labour shortages (due to morbidity, movement
restrictions, social distancing rules) are starting to impact producers, processors, traders and
trucking/logistics companies in food supply chains – particularly for food products that require workers
to be in close proximity. At the same time, loss of income and remittances is reducing people’s ability
to buy food and compensate farmers for their production. Food producers also face large losses on
perishable and nutritious food as buyers have become limited and traders stop engaging with farmers.

 Living in disaster within disaster - Immediate and long term the impact of COVID-19 crisis cripple
people’s resilience and intensify the poverty spiral of the people the eastern part of Upper Brahmaputra
Basin represents a severe floodplain area in the state of Assam. Being located in the floodplain along
the river bank of Brahmaputra, Gelabil and Dhansiri, the project area of the district Golaghat is highly
prone to water induced hazards such as flood, flash flood, river bank erosion and land degradation.

 Children education
COVID19 has disrupted the education of children and youth across. The numbers of affected children
are growing in an unprecedented way with the increase of current lockdown and spread of COVID19.
Education has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and flood together. Drop-out
rates across our operational areas are likely to rise as a result of this massive disruption to education
access. There is complete disruption in imparting of children formal education for the last 4 months
amid the lockdown situation. All schools and other education institutions are closed.

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