Whenever floods strike, the immediate demand is almost always the same: build more embankments and strengthen the existing ones. But treating them as the answer to Assam's flood problem overlooks the complexity of the Brahmaputra basin. Moreover, many major projects affecting the Brahmaputra basin lie outside Assam's jurisdiction, limiting the state's influence over their management. They reflect the condition of an entire river basin shaped by geography, climate and human activity across multiple regions. Only by thinking beyond embankments can Assam begin to reduce the human cost of its annual floods.