Thousands of people are missing in Bihar in eastern India after a river changed its course and flooded hundreds of villages. Two million people have been driven from their homes and ActionAid staff in the region say that it is likely that around 2000 people have died.

The estimate of 2000 deaths is based on reports from field workers of ActionAid and other organisations participating in the Citizen’s Initiative on Flood in Bihar. Government figures are much lower because they only include those whose bodies have been recovered.

Monsoon floods are an annual event in eastern India, and are part of life for many people in the region. But on this occasion the river Kosi, which arises in Nepal, broke through an embankment and changed course, inundating six districts where people were unprepared for flooding.

Dr PV Unnikrishnan, ActionAid’s emergencies advisor for Asia, said: "A large number of people have gone missing. The reason is that the floods have happened in places where floods have not happened for 50 years."

People have moved to any available high ground, abandoning their homes, possessions and livestock. Makeshift relief camps are operating.

Road and rail routes in the flooded area are completely blocked. Rescue operations have been hampered by a shortage of boats.

People are drinking unsafe water, and cases of diarrhoea have been reported.

ActionAid has distributed tarpaulins and water-sterilising tablets from existing stocks, but will need to buy relief supplies on a much larger scale to meet the needs of flood survivors.

An ActionAid team has been touring villages to assess the damage and the need for relief and reconstruction.

The most urgent needs are for temporary shelter, food, drinking water, medical supplies, baby food, and delivery kits and sanitary napkins for women. More boats are needed for rescue and relief operations.