A Médecins Sans Frontières emergency relief team has now reached the areas worst affected by the flooding in Bihar State, India. Currently assessing the needs of the people in Araria and Purnea-Madhepura, the team has supplies, such as plastic sheeting, blankets, jerry cans and water purification tablets, ready for distribution. Yesterday the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, declared the floods as a "national calamity" and appealed to international NGOs for humanitarian support.
The flooding was caused by a break in the Kosi river embankment on 20 August. This break, which is 3km wide and growing by 200m every day, has forced the river to take a new course through the affected areas. The government estimates that around five million people have been affected by the flooding and one million people have been displaced. “We are not talking about the normal monsoon flooding. The river Kosi has changed its course and the villagers and authorities are totally unprepared for this kind of crisis. There is no disaster management preparation and the authorities have asked for MSF’s help to cope with the disaster,” said
Mari-Carmen Viñoles, MSF head of mission in Delhi.
Severe currents in the water mean that only motor boats can be used to evacuate people safely. Because there are very few boats of this type, only 50,000 people have been evacuated so far. The lack of boats has also meant that it has been very difficult to assess the situation by water, so little data is available on the numbers of people who have died or are yet to be rescued. Some areas remain totally cut off and stories from those in the makeshift camps indicate that entire villages have been destroyed by the floodwaters with no inhabitants surviving.
Displaced people are staying in temporary camps, on open land, embankments and by the roadside. Most do not have proper shelter and there is insufficient drinking water available, leading many to use river water, which is unfit for consumption. Because the priority is the search and rescue operation, there is very little organisation in the camps and with an estimated 400,000 people expected in the camps in the coming days, worries are that conditions could get worse.