http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1835710,00.html
India: 1 Million Cut Off by Floods
Monday, Aug. 25, 2008 By AP Article (PATNA, India)
— Authorities struggled Monday to get aid to more than 1 million people stranded by
floods in a north Indian state, with one local government leader describing the situation
as a catastrophe.
Air force helicopters and troops were trying to get food to people in the stricken areas
of Bihar state that were inundated by flood waters last week after torrential rains caused
the Kosi river in neighboring Nepal to burst its banks. The Bihar state government
issued a plea to relief agencies to step in and help get food and shelter to the residents.
"It is not a normal flood, but a catastrophe," said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
after making an aerial survey of the ravaged districts. Kumar said more than 1 million
people were cut off from the rest of the country because the floods had washed away
roads and made railway lines impassable. India's monsoon season, which lasts from
June to September, brings rain vital for the country's farmers but also massive
destruction. Floods, mudslides, collapsing houses and lightning strikes kill hundreds of
people every year.
This year's monsoon has killed more than 330 people in India so far. In 2007,
monsoon floods killed more than 2,200 people across South Asia and left 31
million others homeless, short of food or with other problems. The United
Nations called last year's floods the worst in living memory.
Officials said they were struggling to cope because the Kosi river changed its course
after bursting its banks, flooding areas not usually affected by the seasonal monsoon.
"We are in for a long battle as the floods have come in areas which are not prone to it,"
said the state's Disaster Management Secretary Prataya Amrit. He said the areas lacked
facilities and relief centers for dealing with floods.
Kumar said he had appealed to the Indian Embassy in Nepal to secure permission for
India to send in workers and equipment to try to mend the breach in the river.
India: 1 Million Cut Off by Floods
Monday, Aug. 25, 2008 By AP Article (PATNA, India)
— Authorities struggled Monday to get aid to more than 1 million people stranded by
floods in a north Indian state, with one local government leader describing the situation
as a catastrophe.
Air force helicopters and troops were trying to get food to people in the stricken areas
of Bihar state that were inundated by flood waters last week after torrential rains caused
the Kosi river in neighboring Nepal to burst its banks. The Bihar state government
issued a plea to relief agencies to step in and help get food and shelter to the residents.
"It is not a normal flood, but a catastrophe," said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
after making an aerial survey of the ravaged districts. Kumar said more than 1 million
people were cut off from the rest of the country because the floods had washed away
roads and made railway lines impassable. India's monsoon season, which lasts from
June to September, brings rain vital for the country's farmers but also massive
destruction. Floods, mudslides, collapsing houses and lightning strikes kill hundreds of
people every year.
This year's monsoon has killed more than 330 people in India so far. In 2007,
monsoon floods killed more than 2,200 people across South Asia and left 31
million others homeless, short of food or with other problems. The United
Nations called last year's floods the worst in living memory.
Officials said they were struggling to cope because the Kosi river changed its course
after bursting its banks, flooding areas not usually affected by the seasonal monsoon.
"We are in for a long battle as the floods have come in areas which are not prone to it,"
said the state's Disaster Management Secretary Prataya Amrit. He said the areas lacked
facilities and relief centers for dealing with floods.
Kumar said he had appealed to the Indian Embassy in Nepal to secure permission for
India to send in workers and equipment to try to mend the breach in the river.
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