Archive · 20 Aug 2026
Assam Villagers Use Wooden Boats to Rescue 1,000 Flood Victims
Heavy floods trapped many people in villages in Assam.
Sharvan Prasad and other villagers used six wooden boats to help them.
They rescued at least 1,000 people from six villages.
Some people were trapped inside houses, while others held onto trees.
Rescuers sometimes cut through tin roofs to reach them.
The boats carried 10 to 15 people at a time to safer, higher ground.
Sharvan first took his parents to safety but waited to rescue his brother while helping others.
The flooding was linked by residents to very heavy rain, while mining and deforestation were also mentioned as possible factors.
Sharvan Prasad and fellow villagers rescued at least 1,000 people during floods in six Sivasagar villages.
The rescue operation ran from 11am to 2pm on July 19 and from 5am to 2pm on July 20.
Rescuers used six wooden boats to evacuate people from flooded homes and trees along a 1.5km stretch.
Floodwaters carried sludge, debris, uprooted trees and bamboo, overwhelming villages beside the Dikhow river.
Residents cited heavy rainfall as a possible cause, while others also pointed to mining and deforestation near Assam and Nagaland.
- Who
- Sharvan Prasad and fellow villagers, assisted by local police officer Nabin Chetia, rescued stranded residents.
- What
- They used six wooden boats to rescue at least 1,000 people during severe flooding.
- When
- The main rescue operation took place on July 19 and 20.
- Where
- The rescue covered six villages along a 1.5km stretch near the Dikhow river in Sivasagar district, Assam.
- Why
- Floodwaters, sludge and debris inundated homes and stranded residents in the villages.
Rainfall Explanation
Mining and Deforestation Explanation
Possible causes of the flooding
Rainfall Explanation
Sharvan Prasad and several residents said exceptionally heavy rainfall in upstream Nagaland and downstream Assam caused the flooding and caught people unprepared.
Mining and Deforestation Explanation
Some people attributed the flooding to extensive coal, stone and sand mining and deforestation along the Assam-Nagaland border.
Certainty about the cause
Rainfall Explanation
Sharvan said residents would need to observe the next monsoon before determining whether mining contributes to flooding.
Mining and Deforestation Explanation
The mining and deforestation explanation was presented as an attribution by others, not as a conclusively established cause in the article.
- People rescued
- At least 1,000
- Rescue area
- Six villages across a 1.5km stretch
- Boats used
- Six wooden country boats
- Boat capacity
- Approximately 10 to 15 people per boat
- Operation dates
- July 19 and 20
- Affected villages
- Hiloni, Signal Basti, Gitisaiding, Mirdha Basti, Nepali Khuti and Bihubar Gaon
- Reported flood deaths
- 53 in Sivasagar and 22 in Charaideo, according to the article