In the Indian state of Bihar the effects of the flood disaster caused by heavy monsoon rain during the last weeks, become worse and worse. Up to now, 250,000 houses were destroyed, the harvest is ruined and 3.8 million people had to leave their premises. Several hundred persons were drowned. Many villages are cut off from the outside world and the effects of the floods only become visible slowly. Local sources speak about the largest disaster in Bihar in the last 50 years. And this happens in a region already among the poorest in India. Rivers in Nepal and Bangladesh have also burst their banks.
HELP from Germany, in co-operation with its local partner, the Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust (RNCT), has now started its relief efforts for the victims of the floodings as there is no end of the disaster in sight. The Indian government is throwing emergency aid from helicopters but they reach only a small fraction of the victims. Therefore, HELP and RNCT will in the coming days provide urgently needed relief supplies like water purification tablets, food and medicine. A German staff member who is currently in north-west India will be sent to Patna, the capital of Bihar, to co-ordinate the relief efforts. Further projects for the flood victims shall follow.
HELP is also in contact with its local partners in Bangladesh and is watching the developments carefully there. Some villages have already been evacuated and part of the population is seeking rescue on the flood shelters constructed by HELP and its partner NETZ within the last months.
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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
An internally displaced Tamil collects drinking water at Poonthottam refugee camp in Vavuniya September 2, 2008. Sri Lanka's military on Tuesday said it had captured a town that served as a ...
