Guwahati, June 5 : The flood situation in Assam marginally improved on Thursday, while the situation further improved in other northeastern states, an official said. With two more fresh deaths in Assam, the death toll in seven states, excluding Sikkim, of the region increased to 48.

According to the disaster management officials of different northeastern states, out of 48 deaths during the current spell of rain and floods since May 29, at least 21 people died in Assam, followed by 12 in Arunachal Pradesh, six in Meghalaya, five in Mizoram, two in Tripura and one each in Nagaland and Manipur.

In Assam, as per the report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), over 5.60 lakh people were affected by the floods and rains in 19 districts. Over 6.79 lakh people were affected across 21 districts on Wednesday. According to the ASDMA report, over 19,345 hectares of crop lands were inundated by the flood water in 1,433 villages in 19 districts. Over 4,35,825 domestic animals were also affected by the ongoing floods, the report said. The mighty Brahmaputra river and six other rivers -- Burhidihing, Kopili, Barak, Dhaleswari, Katakhal, and Kushiyara are flowing above the danger level at several places in Assam.

In Manipur, the overall flood situation improved significantly on Thursday with water receding from major rivers as the intensity of the monsoon rain decreased since Wednesday. After the monsoon rain started from May 29, the flood has affected over 1.65 lakh people and damaged 35,242 houses and 115.59 hectares of crop land across the state, mostly in Imphal valley's two districts ' Imphal West and Imphal East. Two days back, the overflowing Imphal, Kongba and Nambul rivers breached several embankments, aggravating the situation in the valley region, a disaster management official said.

He said that the district administrations, along with volunteers, rescued 4,097 people and provided shelter in 78 relief camps.

A Defence spokesman said on Thursday that since May 31, the Indian Army and Assam Rifles troops, as part of their ongoing 'Operation Jal Rahat-II', evacuated nearly 2,500 civilians to safety. The relief operation has been undertaken tirelessly across multiple flood-affected localities in Imphal East and Imphal West districts, providing critical assistance to the flood-affected population in certain cases, without waiting for formal requisition.

Major evacuations took place in Imphal's Wangkhei areas, where 778 individuals were rescued and at the government-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) medical college and hospital, where 750 people, including 15 patients requiring urgent care, were safely evacuated.

In Arunachal Pradesh, the flood situation slightly improved on Thursday even as the incessant rainfall continued, affecting over 33,200 people in 24 of the 26 districts in the northeastern state. Though there were no fresh deaths in the northeastern state during the past three days, so far, at least 12 people, including women and children have lost their lives due to landslides and floods triggered by monsoon rain since last week in five districts -- East Kameng, Lower Subansiri, Longding, Lohit and Anjaw.

As many as 214 villages in different districts with a total population of over 33,200 were affected due to floods and landslides, while most of the major rivers and their tributaries are in high spate but flowing below the normal level, a report of the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.

Altogether, 481 houses were damaged across the state, and 432 domestic animals' deaths were reported, including 335 poultry and 97 animals so far. The overall flood situation significantly improved in Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.

/IANS