Federal troops were Saturday put on alert as flash floods in northeastern India killed eight people and displaced more than 400,000 others, officials here said.
"The army has been put on alert as most of the major rivers are flowing much above the danger mark," L. Phangso, district magistrate of Karimganj, told AFP on telephone.
"Any moment we might have to ask the army to launch relief and rescue operations."
The most severe flooding was in Karimganj district, 350 kilometers (217 miles) south of Assam's provincial capital of Guwahati.
"Three people have been washed away and more than 250,000 displaced by floods since Wednesday, in Karimganj district alone," Phangso said.
In the adjoining district of Cachar, an estimated 50,000 people were rendered homeless by the floods, officials said.
"The situation is grim with all major rivers flowing menacingly," a flood control official said.
According to government officials in Tripura province, which borders Assam and Bangladesh, floods claimed five lives and displaced more than 100,000 since Tuesday.
A government spokesman told AFP by telephone from Tripura's provincial capital, Agartala, that the situation was gradually improving.
"Though in many places some of the rivers were flowing above the danger mark," the spokesman said.
The Tripura government has opened more than 100 relief camps for displaced villagers, he said.
Floods in India's northeastern region are an annual phenomenon, claiming about 300 lives each year -- GUWAHATI, India (AFP)
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