India: Floods - Aug 1988

Monsoon rains caused flooding in Brahmaputra and Ganges and their tributaries resulting in a disaster situation in north-eastern India. The States of Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, west Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh were affected. According to press reports, flooding claimed more than 850 lives. In Uttar Pradesh alone, 453 deaths were officially reported. 12,373 villages and 1.7 million hectares of land were affected. In Assam, the army rescued 15,000 people from a flood-hit area in Gauhati on 29/30 August. The surging Brahmaputra and other rivers have affected 5.6 million people. The Assam death toll increased to 46. Displaced people were accommodated in 25 relief camps. In Bihar state, swollen Ganges and Kosi flooded 100 villages while Bagmati and Adhwara rivers flooded vast areas. 14 deaths were reported from West Bengal. (UN DHA, 31 Aug 1988)