Floods in Orissa state, eastern India, July 2008

The following information was received from ACT member Church's Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) in India:

General situationThe Kosi River, which gathers water from some of the highest mountains in Nepal, including Everest, and enters India in north Bihar, changed its course, and shifted over 120 km eastwards on 18 August 2008. In the process it has rendered useless more than 300 km of embankments that had been built to control its waters, and picked up a channel it had abandoned more than 200 years ago. The effect has been enormous, inundating numerous towns and villages that were considered "flood safe areas", and that had not seen such floods for decades. The people of Supaul, Madhepura, and Araria districts in Bihar had not reckoned with the enormous force unleashed by 51 billion cubic metres of water. The fear is that the 3 km-wide breach is growing by about 200 metres a day. The Bhimnagar barrage is just 12 km away, and should the breach reach the barrage, huge inhabited areas would be flooded, spelling an even bigger disaster. It is a catastrophe far greater than the annual floods. More than two million people are reported to be affected by this disaster. Initial reports suggest that more than a hundred people have died so far, with two million persons affected and more than a million people homeless. People from several villages have taken shelter along the roads as most of their houses have been washed away in the flood waters. The districts of Supaul, Saharsa, Araria, Madhepura, Katihar and Purnea have been badly hit. Supaul District is the most impacted area with 500,000 people affected. Road linkages, water and electricity supply in the above districts have been badly disrupted. Railway tracks in several places have been submerged under water. Nearly 50,000 people are trapped on the east-west corridor highway, while relief workers said people have taken shelter on roof tops and trees in remote areas. According to reports, the current inundation is so massive that it has totally altered the habitation pattern of decades, if not centuries, with the flood waters surging through relatively safe villages, farmlands, fields, buildings and other infrastructure. Other major rivers like Ganga, Ghaghra, Burhi Gandhak, Bagmati and Punpun were reported to be flowing above the danger mark, giving sleepless nights to people. Six teams of the National Defense Reserve Fleet, along with the Army and Air Force, have been pressed into action in the affected districts, including four helicopters, 33 motorboats and over 150 other types of boats. About 15,000 food packets have been airdropped and 71 relief camps have been set up by the government so far. Official sources of the state government of Bihar said that these were not the "normal" Bihar floods, with the element of surprise creating a catastrophic situation. The state government, while sending out an SOS to the Central Government of India, has issued an emergency appeal to all national and international agencies to help the affected population and provide every possible assistance to them. The sheer scale of the disaster is proving to be beyond the government's capacity. It has been reported by the rescue workers that the situation was "chaotic, sad and frustrating" with acute shortage of resources. (Source: Newspapers viz. The Times of India, The Indian Express and internet sources)

ACT responseCASA has approved support for 5,000 families in the affected area of Bihar, in the form of ready-to-eat food, i.e. one kg Jaggery (molasses) and 10 kg flattened rice, as an immediate response. The emergency staff from CASA's East Zone office are moving into the affected area, to carry out this initial relief distribution and a first hand assessment of the situation, and to also establish a base camp with requisite infrastructure and logistical support. Considering the devastation and scale of this disaster, and also in view of the various ongoing emergency interventions in East Zone, an inter-zonal team is being constituted comprising experienced staff from other zonal offices of CASA to respond to this major disaster. CASA has been in contact with the other ACT members in India. United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI) is not planning a response to this emergency. On August 26 a Rapid Response Fund of $61,226 was issued to UELCI for their response to the floods in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The India office of the Lutheran World Federation, Department of World Service, is monitoring the situation but not yet planning to respond. CASA is treating this as a major catastrophe and is therefore planning to intervene in a meaningful and substantial manner with a large-scale program providing ready to eat food, dry ration kits, clothing utensils, blankets, plastic sheets and some construction material as a short term rehabilitation measure. CASA will soon be submitting a detailed appeal proposal comprising flood relief and short-term rehabilitation in Bihar. The ACT Coordinating Office awaits further information and proposals from ACT members in India. DanChurchAid is a member of ACT International - a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies.