Assam Flood Relief: UAE-Based Expats Collect Dh35,000 and Travel Home to Support Communities Hit by Severe Flooding.

On August 4, Boruah and Bordoloi travelled from Dubai to Guwahati aboard Air India Express’ first-ever direct service connecting the two cities, carrying essential relief supplies to support families and communities affected by the devastating floods.

Assam flood survivor in Dubai recalls childhood lessons as devastating deluge leaves thousands affected

For Utpal Boruah, floods have never been an unfamiliar phenomenon. Growing up in Majuli, Assam, he experienced the annual rise of the Brahmaputra from an early age and learned that surviving the monsoon required preparation, awareness and, above all, cooperation within the community.

Majuli, regarded as the world’s largest inhabited river island, is surrounded by the Brahmaputra and has historically faced the consequences of seasonal flooding. For families living there, rising water is not simply a weather event but a recurring part of life that demands careful planning.

Boruah, who has lived in the UAE for many years and now works in Dubai as an insurance professional, remembers developing an instinct for recognising the early warning signs of a flood when he was still a child.

Long before sophisticated forecasting systems and modern communication tools became common, residents relied heavily on their knowledge of the river and the surrounding environment.

Even a small change in the river’s level could provide an indication of what might happen next.

Boruah recalled that villagers were able to observe the river closely and estimate how long they might have before floodwater reached their homes. A rise of only a few inches could prompt residents to start preparing for the possibility that water would soon enter their villages.

This knowledge was passed from one generation to another.

People learned to watch the river, understand its behaviour and recognise changes that could signal a worsening situation. Such awareness was particularly important in communities where flooding was a regular part of life.

Growing up with the Brahmaputra

Life in Majuli taught Boruah and other residents that preparation could make an enormous difference.

When the river began rising, villagers would begin taking steps to protect their homes, livestock and belongings. Raised platforms were constructed to provide safer places during periods when floodwaters covered low-lying areas.

Temporary structures were also prepared to give families somewhere to stay when their normal homes became difficult or impossible to occupy.

Livestock required particular attention.

For families dependent on cattle and goats, protecting animals was an essential part of preparing for a flood. Villagers would construct elevated sheds and move their animals to safer ground whenever water levels threatened to rise.

These preparations were not carried out only by individual households.

Community cooperation was an important part of surviving the floods.

Neighbours helped one another move belongings, protect animals and find safer places when necessary. Those who had more resources often supported people who were more vulnerable.

For Boruah, these experiences became some of the most important lessons of his childhood.

He learned that surviving a flood was not simply about protecting one’s own family. It also meant looking after neighbours and helping the wider community through difficult periods.

Lessons that stayed with him

The experience of growing up with floods remained with Boruah even after he moved away from Assam and eventually established his life in Dubai.

Although he is now thousands of kilometres from Majuli, memories of those years have continued to shape his understanding of natural disasters and their impact on ordinary people.

He knows from personal experience how quickly a familiar landscape can change once floodwater begins spreading.

Villages that appear safe during normal conditions can become isolated, homes can become inaccessible and families can suddenly find themselves struggling to protect their most basic possessions.

The knowledge he gained as a child also gave him an appreciation for the importance of acting quickly when a flood begins.

Preparation can help reduce some of the damage, but once water rises rapidly, even experienced communities can find themselves overwhelmed.

That reality became particularly painful for Boruah when images and videos from Assam’s latest floods began appearing online.

Watching the disaster from Dubai

Despite his experience with floods, Boruah said the scale and impact of the latest disaster were difficult to comprehend.

From Dubai, he watched reports showing people struggling with rising water in several districts of Assam.

The situation affected Sivasagar, Charaideo, Golaghat and Jorhat, among other areas.

What troubled him most was that some of the affected communities were not traditionally regarded as highly vulnerable to flooding.

For someone who had spent his childhood learning how flood-prone areas behave, seeing water reach places that had previously been considered relatively safe was especially disturbing.

Boruah was thousands of kilometres away, but the scenes brought back memories of his childhood.

The images of families being displaced, communities surrounded by water and people attempting to protect their belongings reminded him of the challenges he had witnessed growing up.

However, there was an important difference.

This time, he was watching the disaster unfold from abroad and could not immediately be there to help.

A sense of helplessness

The reports of deaths and widespread disruption made the situation even more difficult to watch.

More than 100 people were reported to have lost their lives, while over 100,000 others were affected by the flooding.

For Boruah, the numbers were not merely statistics.

They represented families, villages and communities facing the same kind of uncertainty that he had experienced as a child.

The scale of the disaster also extended beyond communities that had become accustomed to seasonal flooding.

People living in areas that had not traditionally been considered vulnerable were also caught in the crisis.

That development highlighted how difficult it can be to predict the full impact of extreme weather events.

Residents who may not have considered themselves at serious risk were suddenly confronted with rising water and the need to protect their families.

Flooding began changing lives in July

The first major wave of flooding brought severe disruption on July 19.

As the water spread, homes and livelihoods were affected and many people were forced to deal with conditions that changed from one day to the next.

The Assam government initially attributed the first wave of flooding to a cloudburst in neighbouring Nagaland.

The explanation subsequently became the subject of debate after the India Meteorological Department disputed the cloudburst theory.

The disagreement led to discussions about what may have contributed to the severity of the flooding, including questions about environmental changes and possible deforestation in the surrounding hills.

Different explanations were put forward as officials, experts and commentators attempted to understand why the flooding had become so destructive.

For communities on the ground, however, the immediate cause mattered less than the reality confronting them.

Water continued to rise.

Debate continued as communities struggled

While discussions about the cause of the floods unfolded, residents in affected areas remained focused on survival.

Families needed food, shelter and safe drinking water.

People needed assistance reaching safer locations, while farmers and livestock owners faced the possibility of losing animals and livelihoods.

The longer the flooding continued, the greater the pressure became on local communities.

For people who had experienced floods before, there was an understanding that the crisis does not necessarily end when the water stops rising.

The period after floodwaters begin to recede can be equally challenging.

Homes may need to be cleaned and repaired, roads can remain damaged, agricultural land can be affected and families may have to replace essential belongings.

There can also be concerns about sanitation, disease and access to basic services.

Boruah’s childhood experiences had taught him this reality.

He understood that recovering from a flood requires more than waiting for the water to disappear.

Community support becomes crucial

One of the strongest lessons Boruah carried from his childhood was the importance of people supporting one another.

In Majuli, communities learned to respond collectively because individual families could not always deal with flooding alone.

Neighbours helped move cattle and belongings. People shared available resources and offered temporary shelter when required.

That tradition of mutual support became particularly meaningful to Boruah as he watched Assam struggle with the latest disaster from Dubai.

The distance made him feel powerless initially, but it also strengthened his determination to find a way to contribute.

The devastation reminded him that communities affected by floods often need assistance from people far beyond the immediate disaster zone.

For expatriates living abroad, contributing to relief efforts can become a way of remaining connected with their home state while supporting families facing difficult circumstances.

Memories turned into action

Boruah’s connection with Majuli gave him a personal understanding of what flood victims were experiencing.

He knew what it meant to watch water levels rise.

He knew how families prepare their homes and livestock.

He knew that the effects of a flood can continue long after the initial emergency has passed.

Most importantly, he understood the value of helping others.

Those childhood lessons became especially relevant as the latest flooding affected thousands of people across Assam.

Instead of simply watching the situation from Dubai, he and others from the Assamese community began looking for ways to support relief efforts.

Their response would eventually involve raising funds and travelling home to help communities affected by the disaster.

More than a natural disaster

For people living outside Assam, the flooding was a reminder of how vulnerable many communities remain to extreme weather.

For Boruah, however, the disaster had an even more personal dimension.

It brought back the environment in which he grew up and the lessons that shaped him.

The Brahmaputra had been part of his childhood, and he had learned to respect its power.

He knew that the river could provide livelihoods and sustain communities while also posing an enormous threat during the monsoon.

The latest floods demonstrated that even generations of local knowledge cannot eliminate the dangers associated with rapidly changing water levels.

Communities can prepare, but extreme events can still overwhelm them.

Concern over changing environmental conditions

The debate surrounding the cause of the floods also raised broader questions about the relationship between environmental changes and disaster risk.

Following the government’s initial explanation involving a cloudburst, the India Meteorological Department rejected that account.

This prompted wider discussion about factors that could have contributed to the severity of the flooding.

Deforestation in the hills became one of the issues discussed in the public debate.

Such questions are important because understanding why flooding becomes more severe can help authorities and communities improve preparedness in the future.

However, while experts and officials debated the causes, affected residents continued dealing with the immediate consequences.

For them, the priority was finding safety, protecting families and securing essential supplies.

The human cost remains the focus

Ultimately, the flooding was not simply a discussion about rainfall, river levels or environmental conditions.

It was a humanitarian crisis affecting thousands of people.

Families were displaced.

Livelihoods were disrupted.

Livestock and property were placed at risk.

Communities that had previously considered themselves relatively safe were forced to confront an unexpected emergency.

For Boruah, these realities were impossible to separate from his own childhood experiences.

The scenes coming from Assam showed him that the challenges faced by flood-affected families today remain remarkably similar to those he witnessed while growing up.

The difference was the scale and the speed with which the latest disaster unfolded.

From childhood experience to helping others

Boruah’s journey from Majuli to Dubai has taken him far from the river island where he grew up.

Yet the lessons he learned there have remained deeply connected to his identity.

The knowledge of how communities respond to floods, the importance of protecting vulnerable people and the value of sharing resources all became relevant again when Assam was hit by severe flooding.

This time, however, he was not simply a child watching the Brahmaputra rise.

He was an expatriate with the ability to mobilise support from abroad.

The devastation prompted him and fellow members of the Assamese community to move beyond concern and take practical steps to assist those affected.

Their response reflected the same spirit of community cooperation that Boruah remembered from his childhood.

The latest floods may have caused enormous destruction, but they also demonstrated the continuing willingness of people to come together when communities are in need.

For Boruah, helping Assam was more than an act of charity.

It was a way of returning to the place that had taught him some of life’s earliest lessons — how to prepare for hardship, how to understand the power of nature and, most importantly, how communities can survive difficult times by standing together.