Rains hamper flood relief in Orissa
Friday September 28 2007 00:07 IST

PTI

BHUBANESWAR: Relief and rescue operations were affected in six flood-hit districts of Orissa as heavy rains lashed many areas on Thursday, compounding the plight of over 28 lakh people.

Fresh rains lashed parts of Kendrapara, Cuttack, and Khurda districts this morning making it difficult for relief officials and volunteers to reach far-flung areas, official sources said.

Relief material failed to reach many areas in Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara districts due to inadequate deployment of boats and heavy rains, the sources said.

In a bid to prevent possible outbreak of water-borne diseases, the district administration has launched a vigorous drive to distribute halogen tablets and disinfect water sources in Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Cuttack and Khurda districts, the sources said.

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Flood situation grim

Statesman News Service
BHUBANESWAR, Sept. 25: The flood situation continued to be grim in Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts with lakhs of people being affected and vast stretch of agricultural land inundated. Road communication has been disrupted at various places.
The major rivers like Baitarani, Budhabalanga and Jalaka showed a receding trend today, while the Subarnarekha flowed above the danger level.
The chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik today instructed the collectors of the flood-affected areas to provide relief materials, health service and undertake a massive operation to disinfect drinking water sources.
He made an aerial survey of the flood affected areas of Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore.
Heavy downpour due to depression over the Bay of Bengal over the last four days had caused flood and inundated vast areas in these districts.
The Baitarani has affected 3 lakh people in Dhamnagar, Bhandaripokhari, Tihidi and the Chandabali blocks. People of Bhadrak town too has experienced floods as the Salandi river crossed over the danger mark, following the discharge of water from the Hadgarh reservoir.
As many as 451 villages of 93 gram panchayats have become marooned since the past two days.. Communication to Akhandalamani Dham has been cut off, as the flood water is flowing at the height of there-four feet near Kothar Bazar.
The Bhadrak-Chandabali road was also under flood water at Nalugunada and Nanndapur. The revenue minister Mr Manmohan Samal reviewed the situation today.
He declared three days relief for the affected people and setting up of 11 free kitchens at Dhamnagar Block.
Water discharged from the Hadgarh reservoir submerged the low lying areas of Bhadrak town. According to the irrigation officials, the water level at the reservoir crossed maximum limit. The water at the reservoir had crossed its highest retention level of 82.50 mt and had to be released. Presently the reservoir is discharging 9,000 cusec of water.
People residing in the low lying areas of the Bhadrak town were asked to shift to safer places. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from the low lying areas of the town, said Mr Sasadhar Nayak, municipality executive officer. These people were accommodated at the Women’s college and the Dhanatola school where free kitchen centres have been opened.
Although rivers like Jalaka and Kansabansha are receding, the flood situation continued to be grim in the district .
The Subarnarekha, the cause of worries for north Balasore was above the danger mark. However, sources at the district emergency office claimed that the river has been constant since 4 pm till 8 pm
Official sources said that nearly 7 lakh people of 129 GPs and 933 villages of Sadar, Remuna, Soro, Simulia, Bhanga, Nilgiri and Khair blocks have been affected.
Unconfirmed reports said that four people have died in the recent floods.
While there have been allegations of non-receipt of relief from various blocks, a protest was staged by the irate villagers in the demand of relief materials on NH-60.
Nearly 1.15 lakhs hectares of cultivated areas have been submerged due to water logging .
The official sources said that 16 country boats and six power boats have been pressed in for providing service and relief materials have been sent to the various affected villages .
In Jajpur, the worst affected areas are Bari, Jajpur, Korei and Dasarathapur blocks.
While the Baitarani river is receding, the Brahmani and the Kharasrota rivers are still flowing above their respective danger levels, said the official sources.
According to them nearly 1.5 lakh people in 83 villages under 36 gram panchayats have been marooned .

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Flood in Assam: Isn't it a National Disaster? By M. Burhanuddin Qasmi* "The flood situation in Assam is grim once again, nearly 50 lakh people affected in the deluge". "Army called out in flood-hit Assam, 8 million displaced". "At least 21 of Assam's 27 districts are now hit by the third wave of floods that began Wednesday (5th September), affected 10 million people". These and similar news about Assam were making headlines about the third wave of devastating floods in Assam in almost all national and international media portals till mid September. This year the state has been hit by the killer flood three times, successively, within a short span of three months. Some ladies sail through a boat to save their lives leaving behind their homes and belongings Cost of Recent Flood An Assam government statement said 'a total land area of two million hectares was affected, besides nearly 4.8 million hectares of cropland, since July'. A total of 70 people have been drowned in separate incidents till 15 September 2007. The floods that began in July have so far hit more than 10 million people covering about 9,000 villages - the worst hit districts being Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi, Dhubri, Morigaon, Barpeta, Goalpara and Nalbari. Incidentally the districts are Muslim populous who make nearly 31 per cent of state's total population. According to 2001 census total population of Assam is 2, 66, 38, 407 and flood displaced are more then one third of the total population. There are reports of breaches in embankments in 60 places. Flash flood partially damaged National Highway (NH) 31 and 52 and posed a threat to state's main life line NH 37 by eroding basement area of an important bridge in Golaghat district. Heavy traffics have been diverted through a gravel road. State's water Resource Minister Bharat Chandra Narah informed that the situation worsened because government did not get enough time to repair the breaches of dykes and embankments during the second wave of floods in the month of August. The first wave of pouring flood water hit the state on 11th July this year. Full Story

S Asia flood devastation worsens

Hundreds of thousands are displaced by the floods in Assam

The number of people made homeless by flooding in north-east India and Bangladesh has risen to some 1.5 million, officials say.

India's Assam state is suffering its third wave of floods this year, caused by heavy rains over the past four days.

The army has evacuated 800,000 people as the Brahmaputra rive and its tributaries flow at danger levels.

Downstream in Bangladesh, officials say half a million people are affected and many have been moved to safer places.

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Mass evacuation in India's flood-threatened northeast

GUWAHATI, India, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of people threatened by overflowing rivers caused by monsoon rains in India's northeastern state of Assam have been evacuated, officials said Monday.

The state has experienced flooding since Wednesday, state relief minister Bhumidhar Barman said, with the Brahmaputra and its tributaries breaching their embankments late Sunday, forcing the army to move an estimated 800,000 people.

"The flood situation has worsened," Barman said, adding that thousands of villages had been inundated and 20 of 27 state districts had been affected.

An official bulletin said the massive Brahmaputra River, which flows from Tibet through India to Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal, was above the danger level in 17 places.

"The army is working overtime in the affected areas and we have kept on standby Indian air force helicopters to carry out relief and rescue," said Barman.

Soldiers rescued villagers marooned by waters in six hard-hit districts in Assam, a state of 26 million people, he said.

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More areas inundated by flood waters; IFCD, SF, residents fight to keep breaches at bay The Imphal Free Press

IMPHAL, Sept 7: Flood fighting efforts have intensified in the four valley districts with more areas coming under flood waters today, even as the weather office predicts heavy rainfall for at least the next 24 hours.

Staff of the state IFCD assisted by the security forces and local volunteers were kept busy through the day reinforcing river banks and fighting breaches in the flood vulnerable areas.

Most major rivers, including Iril, Imphal, Nambul and Kongba in Imphal Valley, Thoubal river, Lilong river, Sekmaijin river, Sekmai river Heirok river in Thoubal district and Nambol river, Ingourok river and Thangjamrok rivers in Bishnupur districts have been flowing above the danger level following the continuous downpour since last three days.

Breaches in the river banks have also occurred at several places, particularly in Thoubal district, flooding several hundred hectares of paddy fields and affecting hundreds of homesteads.

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Flood situation grim in UP, Bihar

Posted at Monday, 20 August 2007 10:08 IST
New Delhi, Aug 20: The flood situation in several parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana remained grim as incessant rains continued to wreak havoc.

Nine more deaths were reported. The Army and Air Force were called to rescue nearly 7,000 marooned people in a West Bengal district.

West Midnapore District Magistrate Bhabani Prasad Barat said yesterday that Army personnel were to arrive tonight. The Air Force jawans would report for duty tomorrow morning.


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Young flood helpers praised

By Chris Kearney

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Helpful: Jack Hayle, Shah-Nawaz Khan and Sam Hayle

YOUNG people have been praised for wading in to help the elderly during recent flooding.

Shah-Nawaz Khan, 17, Jack Hayle, 15 and his younger brother Sam, 13, spent hours helping people evacuate and sandbag properties in flood affected Botley.

And now they are being praised by the community for their tireless efforts as West Oxford struggled under the water.

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