2024年7月19日午夜过后，印度东北部阿萨姆邦遭遇严重洪灾[1]。97岁的洛卡达·杜阿拉在丈夫和儿媳的帮助下，被抬上香蕉木筏逃离洪水，最终安全抵达国家高速公路上的救援营地[1]。这场灾难造成100人死亡，约140万人受灾，摧毁超过19000栋房屋[1]。
洪灾影响范围广泛，涉及25个县和456个村庄[1]。布拉马普特拉河及其支流贾尼河、迪考河、米通河相继决堤[1]。在灾情最严重的地区，家中水位达约5英尺（1.5米），村庄积水深度为3至4英尺[1]。当地政府已设立252个救援营地进行安置[1]。身为农民的洛卡达在洪灾中失去了大部分山羊、300只鸭子、300只鸡及大量鱼类[1]。高塔蒂大学地理教授迪鲁巴焦蒂·萨哈里亚指出，洪灾的频率、强度和严重程度已超越历史水平[1]。
Severe flooding swept through India's northeastern state of Assam on July 19, 2024, claiming at least 100 lives and affecting approximately 1.4 million people across 25 districts and 456 villages [1]. The catastrophe destroyed more than 19,000 homes and left water levels reaching roughly 5 feet in residential areas and 3 to 4 feet in villages, with the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries—including the Jia, Dikhu, and Mithan rivers—breaching their banks [1]. The disaster prompted the establishment of 252 emergency relief camps across the affected regions [1].
Among those caught in the deluge was 97-year-old Lokada Duar of Charing village in Sivasagar district, who required an unconventional escape when floodwaters inundated her home [1]. With the help of her husband and daughter-in-law, she was placed on a banana raft and transported to safety, eventually reaching a relief camp located on a national highway [1]. The flooding proved economically ruinous for many residents; farmer Duar lost the majority of her livestock, including 300 ducks, 300 chickens, most of her goats, and large quantities of fish [1].
The crisis reflects an alarming trend in the region. Dilruba Jyoti Saikaria, a geography professor at Gauhati University, noted that the frequency, intensity, and severity of floods have exceeded historical precedents [1], underscoring the unprecedented scale of this natural disaster in Assam.