Floods linked to rainfall, not cloudbursts
NEW DELHI, AUG 13 (AGENCIES): The Centre has clarified that no cloudburst was reported in Assam during the July 2026 floods, stating that the flooding was caused by persistent rainfall in Assam and neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai made the clarification in a written reply to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday concerning flood damage, casualties and ex-gratia relief in Assam.
Rai said information furnished by the Assam government indicated that the July floods were triggered by persistent rainfall in Assam as well as neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. However, he said, no cloudburst was reported by the Regional Meteorological Centre-India Meteorological Department (RMC-IMD), Guwahati.
The clarification came in response to a question seeking details of Assam districts affected by floods allegedly resulting from cloudbursts in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, along with district-wise casualties attributed to cloudbursts and floods during July.
According to the Centre, district-wise details of deaths due to floods during July 2026 were furnished by the Assam government through its Disaster Reporting and Information Management System (DRIMS).
The minister also addressed concerns over post-mortem examinations in cases of deaths during floods and other natural disasters. He said that under an Assam government notification issued on August 1, submission of a post-mortem report is not mandatory for sanction and payment of ex-gratia assistance in cases of deaths caused by floods and other notified natural disasters, including state-specific disasters.
The assistance is provided under the norms of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
The Centre’s response therefore attributed the July flooding to sustained and intense rainfall across Assam and neighbouring states rather than cloudburst events.