In the eastern Indian state of Bihar, nearly five million people have already been impacted by flooding with several major rivers still running above danger levels and relief efforts being continued.
This month, the State has been experiencing widespread floods following heavy rainfall, and the river level upriver from Bihar, in Nepal, has also been straining the rivers of Bihar. All seven key rivers in the state were above danger levels on Tuesday, the state’s water resources department said.
Twenty people have died in the flooding, and large fields of farmland were inundated, officials said. Bihar is one of the most floods hit states of India and suffers severe floods every monsoon.
The state government has increased support to people’s homes. Around 827,000 families were affected by the floods and Rs7,000 had been handed over to them, Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said. The state estimates are more recent and show that approximately 49.7 lakh people in 15 districts are impacted.
13 relief camps are opened and they have used almost 1800 boats in the flooded areas. Over 1,000 community kitchens are also functioning to feed the water-displaced community.
The central government has sent a team to Bihar to assess the damage. Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will visit the state when losses due to the flooding are being prepared in detail by the officials.
Those impacted in affected districts reported access to food, potable water and occupation has been affected. In some families they have had to seek refuge on the roofs of their houses as the floodwaters have moved into residential areas.
Water levels in some rivers have begun to recede, but there are still some rivers above danger levels and the many areas where water levels have not returned to normal pose concerns for authorities.
Source: AFP via CNA
