August 5, 2005, Baltimore, MD - Tens of thousands of people were stranded in Maharashtra, India recently as severe floods shut down cities, closed roads and airports and forced India to deploy troops to help alleviate the effects of record rainfall and the worst flood in nearly a century. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is providing emergency assistance to the most vulnerable families in the region including immediate food support while also planning for longer-term needs in the areas of livelihood rehabilitation and emergency preparedness
Flooding has killed over 850 people according to the latest estimates, with many still missing. Officials estimate that Mumbai, the financial hub of Maharashtra, received over 37 inches of rain in a twenty-four hour period during the heaviest point of the rainfall. Many areas of India do not receive that much rain in a year.
With thousands being evacuated, CRS and its local partners, the Mumbai, Kalyan and Pune Dioceses, are working with Caritas India to coordinate the local community response. In addition to the obvious infrastructure needs, the main source of income of the people here is mainly agriculture and they depend on their livestock for cultivation. CRS and its partners are requesting $1.5 million in response to this tragedy.
CRS personnel working with Caritas say additional provisions will include temporary shelters, children's educational materials, clothing, emergency lighting and cooking gas, as well as livestock feed critically needed by area farmers.