Most people across Assam’s flood-prone districts know what to expect during six rainy months in a year, but the residents of Sivasagar and Charaideo, two historically safer districts along the Assam-Nagaland border, were not prepared for what hit them following a spell of heavy rainfall from July 18 to 22. The scale of devastation that occurred at an unprecedented speed has increased the challenge of recovering from the shock, with 99 dead and 7.21 lakh people affected, reports Rahul Karmakar