Concern has launched an emergency response
to monsoon flooding in the Indian state of Orissa which has left over one
million people homeless.
Floodwaters have submerged an estimated
370 villages and Concern's emergency team in Orissa will be distributing
emergency supplies to marooned villagers over the coming days.
As rains continue, thousands of people forced from their flooded homes are camping on river embankments and national highways without shelter, food and medicines.
Concern is currently purchasing 4,000 tarpaulins which will be distributed to villagers in the badly affected districts of Sambalpur and Kendrapara. Concern staff are doing assessments in some of the worst hit areas and are coordinating their relief efforts with the local government and other agencies.
Crops throughout Orissa have been destroyed by the floods, creating the prospect of food shortages in the near future. Concern's team in Orissa are also looking at ways to provide longer term help to families whose livelihoods have been washed away.
Orissa has experienced weeks of rain and most rivers were swollen prior to last weekend's tropical depression which descended on the state, causing widespread flooding.
Orissa is situated on the east coast of India and has a population of 37 million people. Concern arrived in Orissa in reponse to the 1999 "Supercyclone" which killed over 10,000 people but have stayed on to help tackle the chronic poverty that exists there.