# NDRF, SDRF face flood rescue challenge: People refuse to leave homes 2026-08-16T20:26:50+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Upper Assam is experiencing one of its worst floods in six decades, and rescue teams from the NDRF and SDRF say the biggest challenge is not reaching the stranded but convincing them to evacuate before conditions turn deadly. Kuldeep Sharma, second-in-command of the 1st Battalion NDRF, told The Assam Tribune that people understand the seriousness but wait until the last moment due to emotional attachment to their homes. He added that submerged terrain makes navigation and rescue far more difficult. Aditya Borgohain, SDRF emergency rescuer, said many people in flood-prone areas do not prepare in advance despite awareness programmes. He urged residents to keep bamboo rafts and floating devices ready. On manpower, Borgohain noted that Assam has around 533 SDRF personnel and needs more, though the government inducts new members every year. Sharma said chaos and panic during multiple distress calls require experienced responders to prioritise women, children and the elderly. Borgohain stressed that disaster preparedness in Assam should not be limited to floods, as the state is also earthquake-prone. The key message from both agencies: people must act on safety lessons and know their own limitations, especially before entering strong currents to rescue others. ## Coverage - assamtribune.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Aditya Borgohain, Assam, Kuldeep Sharma, NDRF, SDRF Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ndrf-sdrf-face-flood-rescue-challenge-people-refuse-to-leave-homes/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ndrf-sdrf-face-flood-rescue-challenge-people-refuse-to-leave-homes/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/