Death toll from flooding in India's Assam rises to 41

With 10 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the death toll from floods in India’s northeastern Assam state rose to 41, officials said on Wednesday.

A statement by the State Disaster Management Authority said the new deaths were reported from five districts.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said over 700,000 people were affected in the disaster, and three remained missing.

He said, "cloudbursts and floods have struck even those districts of Assam where such an impact had not been witnessed before".

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The chief minister’s office said all departments were directed to maintain continuous field presence and “expedite rescue, relief, restoration and rehabilitation efforts until every affected family is reached and normalcy is restored”.