Why Assam is experiencing unprecedented flooding this year

5 min readGuwahatiJul 25, 2026 11:48 AM IST An aerial view of vast stretches of flooded areas in Assam's Sivasagar district on Wednesday. X/@himantabiswaAt least 58 lives lost in around a week, seven lakh people affected and the government yet to reach more than 50,000 people for relief — Assam is in the grip of an unprecedented wave of floods. The people who live in the three most affected districts — the Upper Assam districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat — say they have never experienced such flooding in their lifetimes, as the devastating waters spread to new parts of this region each day.What is the extent of the devastation so far? With floodwaters rapidly reaching critical levels on Sunday (July 19) and spreading since then, the total population affected is now estimated at sev