Heavy rain in the upper catchment areas of Nepal has resulted in the rise of the water levels of all the major rivers of Bihar and so far 13 districts (out of a total of 38 districts) have been affected by the flood waters.
Approximately 1.6 million families are affected by the unprecedented floods in Darbhanga, Madhubhani, Sitamarhi, Sheohar and East Champaran Districts. Situation is grim with continuous rains over the northern portion of the state and is likely to get critical with rain/thundershowers forecasted over Bihar by the Indian Meteorological department. As per the Central Water Commission report, river Kamala Balan, Budhi Gandak, Bagmati, Kosi, Mahananda and Adhwara group of rivers are flowing above the danger level.
MAP - India: Flood affected districts of Bihar - 2004
The districts so far affected are Supaul, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur, W. Champaran, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Khagaria, Sheohar Madhubani, East Champaran, Araria, Sharsha and Samastipur. The worst affected districts are Darbhanga, Sheohar, Madhubani and Sitamarhi
DAMAGES DETAILS:
| No. of District Affected | 13 |
| No. of Block Affected | 95 |
| No. of Panchayat affected | 289 |
| No. of Villages affected | 1961 |
| Population affected | 7.9 million |
| No of Human lives lost | 25 |
| No. of Cattle lives lost | 7 |
| No of house damages | 819 |
| Crop damaged | 94,700 Hectare |
| Flood Affected Area | 0.12 million |
GOVERNMENT MEASURES:
- State Govt. is carrying out rescue and relief operations in all flood affected districts.
- Six flood relief columns are present in Bihar as on 12.07.04. Their deployment is as follows.
1. 2 x columns deployed and carrying out rescue and relief operations in Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur districts.
2. 2x columns airlifted from Gwalior and reroute to Dharbhanga by road under difficult conditions became effective on 13th July 2004.
3. 2x columns airlifted from Agra and being grouped into small teams for speedy induction by helicopters to the affected areas of Dharbhanga and Madhubhani Districts on 13th July 2004.
- Indian Air Force (IAF) and Army have been called in for supporting the administration in carrying out the relief and rescue operations.
- Three IAF chopper has been pressed into action to provide relief materials in the affected areas. About 4,500 readymade food packets have been distributed / airdropped in the districts of Sitamarhi, Darbhange and Sheohar
- 69 nos. of relief centers, 47 health centers and 25 veterinary centers have been opened by the administration
- Relief materials distributed - Readymade food : 1132.75 Qtls, Polythenes : 1700 sheets
Measures taken by the Central Government
- Three MI-8 and one Chetak helicopter will be made available to the state.
- Adequate stocks of food grains are available with FCI in Bihar.
- Three hundred tents have been moved from Orissa and two hundred tents are being made available by the Govt. of Gujarat to the State to meet the requirement of Shelter.
- State Govt. of Maharashtra and Gujarat have been advised to assist Bihar State in procurement of polythene sheets.
- Ministry of Petroleum has been requested to provide 400,000 litres of K Oil to Bihar.
- 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.
- Three satellite phones and onsite emergency co-ordination kits are being provided to the Govt. of Bihar by MHA
- Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying have been advised to assist the Govt. of Bihar in the procurement of fodder. Railways will provide rakes for movement of fodder. The department has also been requested to provide 500,000 units each of HS/BQ/FMD vaccine for cattle.
- The central Govt. has already released Calamity relief fund of Rs.305.25 million.
- 325 boats have been deployed for rescue and evacuation operations.
CHANNEL FOR DELIVERY & CONTACT DETAILS:
Disaster Management Department, Bihar: 91- 0612 - 2226945 (Telephone), 2225786 (Fax)
State Control Room: 91 - 0612 - 226305 (Telephone)
Airports: Patna, Purnea, Bihiya and Darbhanga.
SOURCE OF INFORMATION:
- Disaster Management Department, Govt. of Bihar
- Media Report
- Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)
- Central Water Commission (CWC)
- UNDP Bihar Team
BRIEF FLOOD HISTORY OF THE AREA
Bihar, the land-locked central Indian state that lies in the Gangetic basin, accounts for 16.5% of the flood-prone area and 22.1% of the flood-affected population in India. The rivers that regularly inundate the plains are the Ganga, Kosi , Gandak and Son. The 1996 flood affected 31 districts; 207 people and 66 cattle were killed. It destroyed 66,955 dwellings in the state. Due to floods in 1999, about 800,000 people were displaced in Bihar. During the 2001 flood, 22 districts, 183 blocks, 1653 Panchayats and 5,477 villages were affected. A total of 1.02 million hectares were affected. The flood affected 8.13 million people and took 203 lives. .During the 2002 floods, 25 districts, 205 Blocks, 8208 villages were affected and a total of 0.810 million Ha (4.67 billion Rs.) were affected and; 434 people and 1380 cattle were killed During the 2003 floods, 24 districts, 172 Blocks, 5064 villages were affected. A total of 0.6 million Ha (0.62 billion Rs.) were affected and; 237 people and 106 cattle were killed.