12 dead and 2.7 million flood victims in Bihar, India

12 dead and 2.7 million flood victims in Bihar, India
12 dead and 2.7 million flood victims in Bihar, India
Anonim

Officials in the state of Bihar in eastern India say 2.7 million people have been affected by floods in 15 districts. The water level in the Ganges River has reached record levels in Bhagalpur and Patna districts. In 26 districts of the state, water levels in rivers exceed dangerous levels.

Large areas of the state have been affected by floods over the past 10 days. As of August 11, the water level in seven rivers of the state exceeded the dangerous level in 15 places, including the Ganges. More than 250,000 people were affected by floods in 125 villages in 5 counties.

Since then, the flood situation has continued to deteriorate. Bihar's Disaster Management Department said on August 16 that floods affected 2.7 million people and 2,176 villages in 15 counties across the state. The department said up to 12 people died.

More than 85,000 people have been displaced from their flooded homes to safer areas, many with the help of rescue teams from the state and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The NDRF team rescued a victim who had been hiding on the roof of a hut for 2 days.

Essentials were distributed and thousands of victims were provided with meals through public kitchens. Nearly 22,000 people have moved to relief camps set up by the state government.

The affected areas are: Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Khagariya, Saharsa, Patna, Vaishali, Bhojpur, Lakhisaray, Bhagalpur, Saran, Buksar, Begusaray, Katihar, Munger and Samastipur.

The record water level in the Ganges River is observed in Bhagalpur, where it reached 34.75 meters on August 16, beating the previous maximum of 34.72 meters set in 2016. In Hathid in Patna district, the Ganges level was 43.54 meters, surpassing the previous maximum of 43.17 meters, also set in 2016. In 26 places across the state, river levels exceed dangerous levels.

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