NEW DELHI – The death toll caused by a flood triggered by heavy monsoon rains in north India’s state of Bihar has reached 55 people, and over 250,000 have been forced to flee their homes.

A two-kilometre breach in the eastern embankment of the Kosi River in Bihar last week has resulted in the inundation of hundreds of villages, including areas that have not previously experienced major flooding.
The floods have spread throughout the state’s 14 districts and left more than 2.5 million people have been severely affected.

Over 400 villages have been flooded, and large areas of farmlands have been damaged since the Kosi River, nicknamed the “Sorrow of Bihar,” burst its banks and changed course.

Roads have been damaged and water and electricity supplies in the affected districts have been seriously disrupted. Railway tracks have been submerged and essential commodities, including food, are being transported by boat.

Indian army has been sent to Bihar to help with the relief efforts.
India’s army is using 250 motor boats to try to rescue some of the people trapped by the flood waters of the Kosi River in Bihar State. Air force helicopters are dropping food, as the scale of the disaster overwhelms the local authorities.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appealed to the national government for help.

Kumar says to call this a flood is an understatement; that it is a catastrophe. In a radio address to those in the danger zones, he pleaded with them to try to seek higher ground.

Those displaced by the flooding in Bihar are not expected to be able to return to their homes for another two or three months when the embankment is repaired and the river moves back to its normal course. As the number of displaced continues to grow, relief camps may become overcrowded, leading to the spread of communicable diseases.

In addition, the weather has been extremely hot, aggravating the suffering of the displaced population, particularly for children and pregnant women.

“Children in these situations are especially vulnerable. They are most at risk from disease and suffer physical and mental distress from being moved from their homes houses to relief camps,” said UNICEF Emergencies Communication Officer Patrick McCormick.

Last week, UNICEF conducted a rapid assessment of the situation in the three worst-affected districts.
In collaboration with local government and other partners, UNICEF has provided some essential supplies and will continue to work with its partners on the ground to meet the needs of the most vulnerable children and women affected by the crisis.

Essential medicines distributed by the Government of Bihar have reached some of the more accessible relief camps and other affected populations, but there is a lack of doctors in many of these areas. The state government is air-dropping food packets in inundated villages. In many relief camps, local organizations are also distributing food.

In most of the relief camps, drinking water is available through hand pumps. However, additional pumps are needed. Some people, who are staying along river tributaries, are drinking potentially contaminated river water.

Hygiene conditions in the camps are generally very poor, with an insufficient number of toilets, resulting in open defecation. Cases of fever and diarrhea are being reported.

More than a week ago, the Kosi River, which empties into the Ganges, burst its embankment upstream in Nepal and changed course. The deluge has put about half of Bihar under water, including an estimated 36,000 hectares of standing crops. Relief agencies estimate a quarter-million homes have been destroyed.
Weather forecasters predict that the area will see more heavy rain, within the next several days. That has relief agencies gearing up for the possibility of a major humanitarian crisis.

The flooding of this trans-boundary river has also displaced approximately 55,000 people in Nepal.
India’s monsoon season, which usually occurs from early July to September, is vital for harvesting but regularly inflicts major destruction.

In early August floods swept along the coast of the Bay of Bengal in the south of the country, affecting around 50 neighborhoods in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, and killing over 70 people. In August the state of Punjab was also hit hard by heavy rains and floods, causing severe economic damage and over eleven deaths.

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