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India

Approximately two million displaced by floods in disaster-ravaged Eastern India

Baltimore, July 25, 2001- Approximately two million people are displaced and at least 100 dead in the eastern Indian state of Orissa as a result of severe flooding. More than 450 millimeters of rain fell during a 10-day period, more than 80 percent above the normal level, causing Orissa's principal rivers to burst their banks and swallow whole districts. Around 500,000 people are believed to be totally cut off by the floodwaters. Catholic Relief Services has committed approximately $100,000 of its private funds to provide immediate relief for those displaced, distributing food, water and temporary shelter provisions. "Nearly one million people are living on the rooftops of their homes or in trees, and more than 1,000 homes have been totally washed away," said Selwyn Mukkath, Director of Catholic Relief Services' office in Bhubaneswar, Orissa's capital. "There is no food or clean drinking water available to communities, roads have been cut off, fodder for animals is scarce and disease outbreak is becoming a problem in the waterlogged areas."
CRS has begun distributing 4,000 plastic sheets, 100 metric tons of bulgur and oil, 100 metric tons of ready-to-eat rice, 50,000 protein biscuits, 10,000 bottles of water purification tablets and 10,000 oral re-hydration packets. The agency is coordinating activities with Caritas/India and has taken a lead in organizing assessments in all flood-affected districts of Orissa.

The situation is expected to worsen as authorities are being forced to open floodgates on the Hirakud Dam on the state's larges river, the Mahanadi. As this is only the beginning of the monsoon season, the heaviest rains are expected in September, with the cyclone season following in October and November.

"Many people have lost all their rice paddy, which they had just transplanted before the deluge," said Mukkath. "Two years ago the cyclone destroyed the rice, then last year's drought did the same. Now this makes three years in a row that they've lost their staple crop to natural disaster."

CRS continues to help survivors of the super-cyclone that devastated Orissa, causing an estimated $2 billion worth of damage in India's second poorest state. To date more than 1,000 women's groups have been formed in the state. Most of these groups have opened savings accounts and are using their investments to operate small businesses and gear up for emergency situations, like the current flooding.

To contribute to Catholic Relief Services efforts, send donations marked "Orissa floods" to:

Catholic Relief Services
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21203-7090
1-800-724-2530

For more information about Catholic Relief Services and our programs around the world, visit our website at www.catholicrelief.org.

Joe Carney
Communications Associate
Catholic Relief Services
410 625 2220 x3615
jcarney@catholicrelief.org
www.catholicrelief.org