PATNA – Floods in Bihar have affected more than 16 lakh people. Several rivers in the state are now flowing over the danger level because of heavy and steady rain. On Monday, officials said that large-scale rescue and relief efforts are ongoing, with 32 teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) working in the impacted areas.
The Disaster Management Department said that a lot of rain in different districts, such as Bhojpur, Patna, Bhagalpur, Vaishali, Lakhisarai, Saran, Munger, Khagaria, and Begusarai, as well as heavy rain in the catchment areas of Nepal, has caused water levels to rise a lot. In several places, the Ganga, Kosi, Bagmati, Burhi Gandak, Punpun, and Ghaghara rivers are all flowing over their danger marks right now.
The Disaster Management Department said that no deaths have been reported so far, even though the disaster has affected more than 16 lakh people. Santosh Kumar Mall, the Principal Secretary of the Water Resources Department, told PTI that all relevant departments have been warned to stay on high alert. Also, districts have been told to be ready to set up more assistance camps and communal meals if things get worse.
The announcement gave a breakdown of how many individuals in each district were affected by the floods:
Saran: 3,83,340 people live in 18 panchayats.
Begusarai: 36 panchayats with 3,15,596 persons.
2,37,765 people live in 67 panchayats in Bhagalpur.
There are 1,88,000 inhabitants in Bhojpur’s 30 panchayats.
Patna: 1,85,786 people live in 24 panchayats.
There are 1,67,200 inhabitants in 23 panchayats in Vaishali.
Munger has 1,26,000 people in 28 panchayats.
The Disaster Management Department said that Bihar got 507.4 mm of rain from August 1 to 10, which is 12 percent less than the normal amount for this time of year. This is interesting because the state has been dealing with constant rain. This means that the flooding right now is mostly caused by a short period of heavy rain and a lot of water coming in from upstream places.