Guwahati, India – At least 97 people have lost their lives in devastating floods across India’s northeastern state of Assam, with swollen rivers inundating villages, submerging farmland, and forcing thousands into temporary shelters, officials confirmed on Friday.

The floods, described as one of Assam’s worst deluges in years, have affected nearly 170,000 people. More than 14,000 hectares of cropland – an area roughly one-and-a-half times the size of Paris – have been submerged. In the worst-hit district of Sivasagar, an AFP journalist reported seeing half-submerged houses, uprooted trees, and vehicles buried under mud.

Among the victims was a 13-year-old boy who died while attempting to rescue his pet dog from the floodwaters. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted a video on Friday of himself consoling the boy’s parents, writing, “No parent should ever have to bid farewell to their child”.

India’s Health Minister J.P. Nadda, who visited the flood-hit region on Thursday, described the scale of destruction as “so huge that it will take time” for normality to be restored. “Village after village has been submerged,” he told reporters.

Flooding is common in Assam during the June-September monsoon season, as the Brahmaputra – India’s largest river – and its many tributaries overflow. However, experts warn that climate change, combined with poorly planned development, is increasing the frequency, severity, and impact of such disasters.

Residents and officials have also pointed to illegal coal mining in the neighbouring state of Nagaland as a contributing factor, saying it has worsened flooding in areas not historically prone to inundation. Chief Minister Sarma has indicated he would raise the issue with the national government in New Delhi.

Advocacy group Climate Trends said the increasing severity of floods in the state was “driven by the interaction of global warming, changing river dynamics and growing human exposure, making them more frequent, more complex and more costly”.

As of this report, rescue and relief operations are ongoing, with authorities working to provide shelter and assistance to the thousands displaced by the rising waters.