India: Floods Situation Report 04 Aug 2004

As of 4 August 2004 Event : Floods
Assam

Current situation

The overall situation of the state is improving with the receding of water levels in the rivers and less rainfall over the state and bordering areas. There are no new damages reported, however there is an increase in the death toll. The following is a summary

- All of the 27 districts are now affected by floods the situation in the worst affected districts : Karimganj, Cachar, Nagaon and Golpara are improving marginally. However the situation for low-lying areas of Golaghat and Jorhat will remain serious for sometime.

- 10,425 villages have so far been affected by the floods this year affecting a population of 12.2 million approximately although water is receding many areas are still submerged and water has been stagnant

- 571,413 houses have been damaged

- 247 deaths

- Approximately 718,774 people are spread over 860 camps (Source: UNDMT)

- Total crop area affected is estimated to be 1.25 million hectares

- Flood situation in the state will continue to be serious

- Lifelines are badly damaged with a number of roads closed to traffic due to damage (approximately 562 kms of National Highways); railway traffic has also been suspended in many areas (eg, Lumding-Badarpur suspended due to landslides since 10 July)

- 24 breaches of the embankments have happened in the month of July alone

Health Updates

- The report of the health department has recorded:

• 282 cases of diarrhea with 28 deaths,
• 1271 cases of dysentery
• 1718 cases seen presenting with fever (causes undefined in the report)

- Needed health supplies and medicines have been identified and sent by the Ministry of Health including ORS packets and halogen tablets

- Epidemic Surveillance by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and National Vector Borne Disease Control Program (NVBDCP) and the Regional Director of Health and Family Welfare in Guwahati are on high alert; a team has been sent by the MOH to advise the state health officials on actions to be taken to prevent epidemics

- The State Health Department has deployed 2,500 doctors for providing medical assistance to the flood victims in the affected areas. 31 medical officers and 99 health workers in 30 teams have been deployed in the affected areas to provided preventive and curative health services

- The Public Health Engineering Department is distributing water purifying chemical packets, bleaching powder packets for disinfection of tube wells, ring wells and ponds, installation and repair fo tube wells are also being carried out

- Medical camps have been organized by the Army (99 APO) through 12 columns in the districts of Dhubri, Bongaigaon, Morigaon, Kamrup, Nagaon, Goalpara and Nalbari.

Action

All state and district administration have taken steps for relief and rescue operation. The officials of all line departments of state and central government have been asked to assist the district administration in the relief and rescue operations and have responded as follows:

• Army and Air Force assistance have been utilized in rescue operation. 11Air Force helicopters and 69 powerboats are engaged for rescue of marooned people
  
  
• Army speed boats are also utilized for rescue of the affected people.
  
  
• 27 Army columns have been providing assistance in various districts
  
  
• Calamity Relief Funds (from Central government amounting to 462.2 million RS) have been earmarked for distribution of relief goods like food stuff, kerosene, drinking water, and medicine
  
  
• The State Government has requested the GOI for 5 million halogen tablets, ORS packets and 200 MTs of bleaching powder
  
  
• Flood Management Committees have been constituted at the State, District and Sub-divisional level
  
  
• Inter-ministerial committee has been set-up to carry out damage assessment in Assam
  
  
• Emergency Wireless Communications are also being set-up
  
  
• Efforts to address water and sanitation issues such as distribution of water purifying tablets; cleaning and repair of wells have been implemented
  
  
• Support from civil society and international organizations together with bilateral assistance has been provided in various forms particularly by agencies with field offices in Assam State; regular coordination/information sharing meeting by NGOs are conducted

Points of concern:

- Severe damage to houses will be a critical problem to address in the near future -- temporary shelters are not sufficient in number and in the medium term

- Damage to staple food crop cultivation may lead to food insecurity among vulnerable populations (eg, poor farmers)

- Availability of safe and adequate drinking water is a cause of concern due to contamination of all drinking water sources

- Lack of proper hygiene in relief camps and stagnation of water as flood waters recede may lead to epidemics of water borne diseases Isolated cases have been reported to the health department

- Lack of dry storage points to store food and relief items

- Landslides have further hindered the transport of relief items

Current Needs:

- Health care services in the ongoing shelter camps and centers need improvement -- post natal and neonatal care should be provided

- Bleaching powder and phenyl are required in large quantities for the affected districts

- For Shivsagar district medicines, vaccines including veterinary vaccines are in short supply and requests have been made to the State government for support

- Post flood disease surveillance assessment and interventions in the affected districts

- Immediate bridging for state PWD roads

- Severe damages to houses is a critical problem at present and displaced people need safe shelter as temporary shelters are not in sufficient numbers

From a report by: Mr A K Sengupta, Environmental Health Officer WHO India Office

Sources of Information : Government Report (Ministry of Home Affairs) ; UNDP Team, Media Reports, NGOs in Assam; Disaster Management Department, Govt. of Bihar; Indian Meteorological Department (IMD); Central Water Commission (CWC); UNDP Bihar Team

As of 4 August 2004

Bihar

Current Situation

Generally, there is not much improvement on the situation particularly for certain areas. The worst affected districts in the ongoing floods are Dharbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, Samsatipur and Muzzafarpur. Darbhanga district remains cut-off from the rest of the state. Some figures are as follows:

• 20 of 38 districts have been affected.
• 605 people have died
• 21.17 million people affected
• 9282 villages affected
• 1.25 million have taken shelter in 977 relief centers/temporary camps
• extensive damage to road and rail networks have been documented

Action

Lead by State Government in coordination with central government

- State and Central Government Coordination meetings have been conducted regularly to assist the affected population

- A total of 10 Army columns for food relief deployed with 6062 boats for rescue and relief operations

- Inter-ministerial team has been constituted for detailed assessments in the state

- Ministry of Health has been requested to provide 5 million halogen tablets and to send a specialist team to flood affected areas of Assam to advice the State Govt. on actions to be taken to prevent the outbreak of epidemic situation. Procurement of other medical supplies are currently being arranged

- An assessment of medicines and health supplies needed has resulted in the procurement of 26 essential medicines

- Tents have been supplied by different states and institutions to meet the needs

- The Calamity Relief Fund of Rs.818 million has been released for Bihar.

- Infrastructure support- temporary roads, bridges, repair of embankments, irrigation and livestock needs and emergency communication networks have been coordinated by the Chief Secretary

- NGO coordination meeting is conducted regularly to define roles and responsibilities

- Additional assistance from civil society groups, international organizations have also been provided

Current needs

• Safe drinking water essential life-saving medicines, shelter material and water purifying agents
  
  
• Planning for immediate, medium and long term rehabilitation and recovery action
  
  
• Issues particularly for vulnerable groups such as women and children have to be addressed
  
  
• Provision of safe and adequate drinking water need is also a priority
  
  
• Post flood- diseases surveillance in the affected districts

Extracts from the Environmental Health Officer of WHO India Office visit report

1. Water level has started receding from a number of places and people have started going back to their own places. As large number of houses/huts has been damaged, more relief camps including temporary shelters need to be created.

2. Most of drinking water sources have been damaged due to mud/sand filling or washed away. These need to be restored/ rehabilitated. It is also essential to disinfect them and monitor the residual chlorine level. Though bleaching powder and halogen tablets are being sent to district headquarters for distribution, proper monitoring of the final use is yet to start. This is a must to keep a watch on acute diarrhoeal diseases.

3. The Disease surveillance programme needs to be strengthened

4. At present there is no monitoring of the quantity and quality of food being supplied and means to cook them.

5. Relief items may not be an issue while their distribution was critical.

6. NGO coordination meeting are held regularly where key issues are discussed and decisions are made Key areas that need monitoring are points 2, 3, and 4

From a report by: Mr A K Sengupta, Environmental Health Officer WHO India Office

Sources of Information : Government Report (Ministry of Home Affairs) ; UNDP Team, Media Reports, NGOs in Assam; Disaster Management Department, Govt. of Bihar; Indian Meteorological Department (IMD); Central Water Commission (CWC); UNDP Bihar Team

Northwest India : Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab

As of 4 August 2004 Event: Floods

Meteorological Information

Torrential rains in the past 48 hours have affected Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Haryana has been due to the revival of the South-West Monsoon in the central and western region. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has reported that after a dry spell till 28 July, the monsoon has become active with rainfall over the North-Western region including Konkan, Goa, across Mahrastra, Gujarat and East Rajasthan, Delhi and isolated parts of Uttaranchal Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The forecast is that heavy rains will come at a few places especially Konkan and Goa, coastal Karnataka, coastal Andhra Pradesh, South Madhya Maharashtra, and Gujarat Region, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. The outlook for rainfall in the next 48 hours will also increase in east-central India.

Flash Flood during the last 48 hours in the north Western States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Himacchal Pradesh and Punjab

During the last 48 hours the following districts were flooded due to the torrential rains:

- In the four affected districts of Gujarat the death toll in the last 48 hours is either due to drowning or electrocution; 150 houses collapsed

- 1069 families are displaced and are in school buildings as shelters in Pune

Damage to Infrastructure

- National Highway from Valsad to Mumbai were temporarily closed- later light vehicles were allowed

- Rock falls have been experienced in the Pune-Mumbai HW

- Railways in Mumbai, Thane and Nasik have been affected

- Portion of Ambala-Chandigrh have been washed away

- Gujarat electricy has been shut down as some sub-stations were flooded

Action

State Government

- Pune Flood Control Room has been activated

- The army has been deployed and conducting search and rescue operations in the overflowing Ghaggar river

- Rescue teams have been deployed from Ahmedabad and Rajkot

- Local swimmers and private boats were also deployed for rescue

- 79,000 food packets have been distributed to evacuated persons with the help of the Army and the Air Force

- Pune has provided temporary shelters in the municipal schools for 1069 families

- State Emergency Operations Center are functional

From a Report by Mr AK Sengupta current EHA Focal Point, WHO India Office

Sources of Information : IMD , New Delhi, UNDP Gujarat and Maharashtra Team