Assam floods destroy livelihoods and test resilience

Krishna Prasad Sharma and his family in Nepali Khuti, Assam, lost 23 of their 24 Jersey cows when recent floods quickly rose to neck level, leaving the animals tethered and unable to survive.

The family, like many in the region, relies on dairy farming as their primary income. While they were able to save themselves with help from neighbors, the loss of their livestock is devastating, as rebuilding the dairy business will take years.

The floods, triggered by intense rainfall as most of India experienced a delayed monsoon due to the El Niño effect, impacted 563 villages across 14 districts in Assam and affected over 1 million livestock. Nearly 40% of Assam, around 31,500 square kilometers, is prone to flooding, a figure four times the national average.

However, communities like Bonqual Balichapori have adapted to the annual floods by building stilt houses and developing strategies to protect their livestock, such as moving animals to higher ground. Residents there leverage generations of knowledge to prepare for predictable floods, a contrast to the sudden impact felt in villages like Nepali Khuti. Researchers suggest a shift towards adaptation strategies and incorporating local knowledge into flood preparedness plans, alongside engineering solutions like embankments, could reduce the impact of these recurring disasters.