Guwahati: A digital door-to-door assessment has begun to document damage from floods that ripped through parts of upper Assam three weeks ago.Heavy runoff from the Nagaland hills caused flooding across Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat districts.Trained govt teams, led by teachers, began surveying affected households on Sunday using a dedicated Revenue and disaster management department mobile app. The app uses geotagging to improve the speed and accuracy of assessments.“Doorstep assessment of damages due to #AssamFloods began today in all the affected districts. Damaged houses, livestock and every other impact will be documented by Aug 31. No family will be left behind in getting their due rehabilitation benefits,” CM Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on social media.Officials said verified victims could receive assistance through direct benefit transfer under SDRF norms by Sept 15.Revenue and disaster management minister Keshab Mahanta launched the survey at Amguri Panchayat in Sivasagar district. Floodwaters from the Jhanji river destroyed around 85 houses in Amguri Tea Estate on July 19 and 20.Surveyors collected residents’ Aadhaar, phone, bank account and IFSC details and uploaded geotagged photographs of damaged houses to the ASDMA app.“As directed by CM Sarma, survey teams, under revenue circle officers, will assess flood-affected households in upper Assam through a mobile app by Aug 30. CM has directed to complete the task on a mission mode,” said Mahanta.District disaster management authorities will verify the data under the respective deputy commissioners before forwarding it to ASDMA for state-level review.Minister Borah earlier said families whose houses were severely damaged would receive Rs 1.2 lakh each. “If the damage assessment is carried out properly, a flood-affected family could receive at least Rs 1.78 lakh, while those suffering massive losses could get more than Rs 3.5 lakh,” he said.
