Assam is facing floods again, but it doesn’t have to be this devastating

It is the annual flood season in Assam, India’s most populous northeastern state, and already well over half a million people in two-thirds of its 34 districts have been affected. The Assamese are used to flooding, but data reveals an increase in extreme rainfall days in recent years, leading to even greater devastation.

The 2020 Assam floods also affected over half a million people statewide, according to the Assam Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA). Spread over four months between May and August, the ASDMA struggled to accommodate over 150,000 people in 627 relief camps while attempting to maintain social distancing norms last year. 

Much like other disastrous global events like the recent floods in Germany and Hurricane Ida that caused unprecedented flooding in the US, these changing rainfall trends are attributed to climate change. This necessitates disaster management authorities to build climate resilience right at the planning stage to mitigate the effects of future events.