At least 26 people were killed after a new wave of floods hit Assam on Saturday. State capital Guwahati has also been reeling under incessant rains since the past 48 hours.

Army helicopters were pressed into service to rescue 20 marooned people in western Assam's Golapara district. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi told reporters that at least 17 relief camps had been set up in Guwahati and more than 7,000 people had been accommodated there.

Elsewhere in the state, thousands moved to relief camps after their homes were inundated with water, officials said. "The flood situation has really turned serious because a lot of water is flowing down from the neighbouring mountainous states," Gogoi said.

The entire north-eastern region has been battered by rains since Wednesday, triggering landslides and flooding. Mudslides buried several houses in Guwahati. Eighteen people were killed in landslides on Friday.