Massive evacuation as millions hit by India floods

RIVER BREACH: Flood-affected villagers sit in a rescue boat after they were rescued by the Indian army. (AFP)

More than 300,000 people trapped in India's worst floods in 50 years have been rescued but nearly double that number remain stranded without food or water, officials said Saturday.

About 60 people have died and three million people have been affected since the Kosi river breached its banks earlier this month on the border with Nepal and changed course, swamping hundreds of villages in eastern Bihar state.

Another 300,000 people have fled their homes and are living in government relief shelters, temples and high-rise government buildings.

"Large-scale evacuation will continue until all the marooned people are rescued in the next three to four days," disaster management official Prataya Amrit told AFP.

The government said the situation was unlikely to return to normal for months and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) voiced fears about illnesses breaking out at congested relief camps.

"We will have to provide food and shelter to the survivors until October as they will not be able to return home," the state's disaster management minister Nitish Mishra told AFP.

The government has set up more than 100 shelters, but officials said nearly 600,000 people were still waiting to be rescued.

Print | Email | Discuss this article |

READERS' COMMENTS

View all comments (0)

Have your say

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM