Introduction
Several parts of India are still submerged following severe flooding, which has left 1,752 people dead and over 31 million displaced. From mid-June to mid-July, 30-50% of the annual rainfall fell in just 30 days, and resulted in the worst flooding in recent memory.
Many areas previously affected by June flooding are facing severe flooding once again. The floods have destroyed homes, damaged infrastructures and ruined crops across 2.1 million hectares of land.
According to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, 68,160 livestock have perished and 592,427 houses have been damaged, of which 131,754 were completely destroyed. Bihar, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are the worst affected in terms of loss of life and property in the last two weeks.
Regional Updates
Bihar
There has been no letup in the Bihar flood situation with the major rivers of the state flowing above the danger level including the Ganga, Punpun, Gandak, Bagmati, Adhvara, Koshi and Mahananda according to the Central Water Commission. Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters are distributing relief materials in the flood-hit areas.
The floods so far have claimed 325 human lives in Bihar and caused large scale damage to crops and private property in 20 districts due to devastating floods since the first week of August.
According to government reports, nearly 16 million people in 7,972 villages in 210 blocks of the 20 districts were badly hit by the floods. It has been estimated that 1.19 million hectares of crop area have been damaged with an estimated value of damaged crops of Rs 26.307 million. The figure for damaged houses comes to 159,541 and is estimated to be worth about Rs 2,710 million.
Over 1,100 relief camps, 456 medical camps and 266 cattle camps continued to function round the clock in the flood hit districts.
Assam
With the floodwaters receding, the situation is improving in Assam, as thousands of people have started returning to their homes. The death toll in the current wave of floods has gone up to 23 as confirmed by government sources. It is reported that most of the villages were affected due to breaches in embankments. Though the flood level this year was lower than 2004, government reports have said that the damage caused would cost huge revenue losses.
According to government estimates, around 26,000 hectares of crops have been affected. About 107,256 people have taken shelter in different relief camps.
The recent floods have affected 26 districts and 5,931 villages. The worst affected districts are reported to be Dhemagi (397 villages), Dibrugarh (148 villages), Nalbari (112 villages), Dhubri (297 villages), Goalpara (153 villages), Kamrup (209 villages), Bongaigaon (207 villages), Morigaon (350 villages), Jorhat (715 villages), Naogaon (69 villages), Sibsagar (57 villages), Darang (56 villages) and Sonitpur (11 villages).
Damage has been reported to 69 embankments, 968 roads and 539 semi-permanent timber bridges. Land erosion continued in the districts of Barpeta, Nalbari, Bangaigaon and Dhubri and waterlogging persisted in the lowland areas of the affected districts. A health alert was also issued in the northeastern state to prevent the outbreak of waterborne diseases.
West Bengal
Although there are signs of some improvement, the situations in Keshpur, Ghatal and Sabang are alarming as the rivers of Kangshabati, Keleghai and Kapaleswari are still flowing above the danger level. New areas have become flooded. The villages have become like islands and the marooned people cannot even come to collect the relief materials. Thousands of people have taken shelter in relief camps situated on the embankments and are suffering from huge food crisis.
According to government information, 4.7 million people were affected in the recent floods and more than 70,000 people have taken shelter in 450 relief camps across south Bengal. About 33,000 people so far have been rescued and sheltered in 140 relief camps. If rain continues, another 100,000 people would need to be rescued immediately reports the District Magistrate.
All the major rivers including the Kansabati, Silabati, Kasai, Subarnarekha, Jhumi, Keleghai, Kapaleswari and Chandi are flowing above the danger level.
The worst affected areas are Keshpur, Midnapore, Kharagpur, Debra, Ghatal, Sabang, Datan and Narayangarh. As per the District Magistrate’s report, 13 speedboats and 200 country boats have been put into service to rescue people. The district administration has sought 20 more speedboats and additional country boats from the state government.
In West Midnapore district, the Army and Air Force were called on to help rescue about 7,000 marooned people in different areas in the district as the flood situation worsened, affecting over one million people.
Orissa
In Balasore district of Orissa, there is still incessant rain and all the villages are cut off from the main road. The people have become tired of facing repeated floods for the last 40 days. They have never faced a flood situation like this in 50 years. Stored food grains have been damaged and all standing crops have been destroyed.
There is a severe food crisis and there are no livelihood opportunities for people with sand covering the paddy fields. Our relief team reported from Balasore district that most of the main roads are submerged under 4-5 feet of water. Most people in Basta and Baliapal blocks have lost their houses.
Due to continuous rain, major rivers like Baitarani, Brahmani, Kharasrota and Birupa are flowing above the danger level, resulting in flooding of Jajpur and Kendrapara districts. Reports from the field indicate that two major roads are cut off: one from Pattamunda to Aul near Patrapur and another at Bhariagada in the Rajkanika block. This is creating severe impediments to transportation. The floods in Kendrapara and Jajpur have affected 42 and 47 Gram Panchayats respectively in 11 Blocks of the two districts.
Uttar Pradesh
The rivers started receding from most of the affected districts. About 2,201 villages in 22 districts with a population of 1.71 million have been affected. The worst affected districts are Gorakhpur, Shravasti, Bhraich, Maharajgunj, Boirampur, Basti, Gonda, Mau, Balia, Azamgarh and Barabanki.
LWSI Response
The crisis phase operation is moving smoothly in Orissa and West Bengal with active cooperation and support from respective state/district/block administrations, local NGOs and the affected communities. Recently, LWSI representatives attended the Inter Agency Group meeting at Patna, Bihar, to assess the overall situation in the state.
LWSI has completed the first phase of relief operation at Sabang block of West Midnapore district in West Bengal, covering more than 2,500 families in 13 of the worst affected villages.
In Balasore, Orissa, LWSI has assisted 4,510 families out of the 5,000 targeted families and relief operations are expected to be completed within the next week. Terrible road conditions combined with continuous rains and floods cut off both our operational camps and caused severe hardships to LWSI staff in the process of relief distribution. However, the people are very happy with the quality of LWSI relief materials and the systematic method for determining deserving families. Distribution is being done without any political influence or consideration of caste, creed, etc.
The following items were provided in Balasore and West Midnapore: polythene sheets mosquito nets, bleaching powder, lime, water purification (halogen) tablets, bed sheets, high protein biscuits, men’s wear, women’s wear and children’s garments for boys and girls.
In Assam, LWSI has conducted a rapid assessment in Udalguri and Barpeta districts. Another assessment team was sent from the Assam Riot Victims’ Rehabilitation & Development Project to the Sonitpur district.
In Bihar, LWSI planned to cover 3500 families in East Champaran district. All necessary arrangements have been made to send the emergency response team to carry out the work from the 1st week of September 2007.
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