Alert

India - No. 20/2009

Floods in Sitamarhi and Muzaffappur districts, Bihar State

Geneva, 04 August 2009

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EMERGENCY SITUATION:

Yesterday, over 500,000 people from the districts of Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur in Bihar State have been affected by floods triggered by breaches in the embankment of Lakhandei River - a tributary of Bagmati River - at two places. The flood waters have inundated about 150 villages in these districts. Heavy rains during the last 24 hours have further aggravated the situation, reports ACT member in India, the Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA).

IMPACT:

Many people have been displaced from their homes and forced to take shelter on embankments, rooftops, in school buildings and makeshift shelters in the affected districts. Around 20,000 people are being sheltered in nine (9) relief camps set up by the authorities. Arterial roads have been submerged or damaged, causing widespread disruption in transportation & communication, leaving many people stranded. A large number of mud houses and huts have been damaged or washed away in the flood waters.

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE:

A team of engineers with the help of volunteers & workers have been working day and night to plug the breach in the embankment. Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force and Border Security Force have been engaged in search and rescue operations. The district administration has pressed about a hundred (100) boats into service to bring stranded people to safe places.

According to CASA, the State Government has so far provided of 3,000 plastic sheets, 15 metric tons of beaten rice and jaggery (coconut sugar) as relief supplies to the affected areas.

PLANNED ACTIVITIES:

CASA is closely monitoring the flood situation in coordination with fellow ACT member Lutheran World Service India and would like to commence a relief operation if the situation worsens.

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira, ACT Finance Officer (jkg@act-intl.org).

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ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.