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2012 Brahmaputra floods

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Deaths
  
124

Location
  
27 districts of the Assam state

The 2012 Brahmaputra floods were an unprecedented flood event along the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries due to significant monsoon rains in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. 124 people were killed by the flooding and landslides, and about six million people were displaced. The worst hit area was the state of Assam in India. Flooding significantly affected Kaziranga National Park, where 540 animals died including 13 rhinos.

In September 2011, the Brahmaputra River flowed through braided channels, but a year later, the channels could not be detected in the swollen river. During the monsoon season (June–October), floods are a common occurrence in India. Occasionally, massive flooding causes huge losses to crops, life and property. Deforestation in the Brahmaputra watershed has resulted in increased siltation levels, flash floods, and soil erosion in critical downstream habitat, such as the Kaziranga National Park in middle Assam.

Helicopters were deployed to drop food supplies to nearly 10,000 people in six villages where highway access was cut off by the flooding, about 550km west of Gauhati, the capital of Assam.

References

2012 Brahmaputra floods Wikipedia