Assam floods: Sivasagar survivors recount harrowing escape, face long recovery

Mukul Bezbora and Bonti Bezbora survived 12 hours atop a floating wooden divan in Sivasagar district after floodwaters engulfed their home on July 19, 2026.

The couple was rescued by boat on July 20 but lost all belongings except the clothes they were wearing; two truckloads of mud and debris were cleared from their house.

Madhusmita Borthakur escaped with her two daughters from the ONGC Colony in Sivasagar as the campus inundated; she hitched a ride in an open van and stayed at a friend's house.

The Assam floods pushed the death toll to 68 and impacted over 6 lakh people, with Sivasagar being the worst-hit district.

Mukul Bezbora, a retired professor of Gargaon College, said the flood was unprecedented in the area since he moved to Nazira town in 1992.