Heavy monsoon rains have led to flash floods and landslides across India’s northeast states, leaving at least three people dead in Arunachal Pradesh, inundating villages in Assam, damaging infrastructure across several states and prompting fresh warnings of more extreme rainfall in the coming days.
Arunachal Pradesh was the first to get hit with flash floods triggered by intense rainfall striking Keyi Panyor district on June 24, washing away homes, roads and bridges, particularly around the Panyor Hydel Project colony near Yazali.
Media reports suggest that thousands of people across 12 of Arunachal Pradesh’s 28 districts have been affected to varying degrees as floods triggered by incessant monsoon rains continued to wreak havoc across the state.
The Indian Air Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police and district authorities have been carrying out rescue operations, using helicopters to reach communities cut off by damaged roads and swollen rivers. Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with Chief Minister Pema Khandu and assured the state of central assistance.
The impact has extended downstream into Assam, where the first major flood wave of the 2026 monsoon has affected more than 22,000 people across six districts (across Assam and Arunachal Pradesh), including Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh. Nearly 100 villages and over 1,600 hectares of agricultural land have been inundated. In Dhemaji, riverbank erosion led to the partial collapse of a railway bridge over the Simen River in Simen Chapari, disrupting train services and isolating several villages.
Heavy rainfall has also triggered landslides and transport disruptions in Meghalaya, while Sikkim reported the washing away of a Bailey bridge over the Phee Khola at Phidang in the Dzongu region of North Sikkim, cutting off road connectivity. Authorities in Nagaland have also warned of flash floods and landslides as the active monsoon persists.
Banner image: Flood affected people travel on a boat during the rescue operation of State Deserter Response Force (SDRF) after heavy rain and flooding in Guwahati, Assam, in April 2026. Representative image. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Priyanka Shankar Editor
This article was originally published on Mongabay India and has been republished here with permission.