Indian floods leave 50 people dead, almost half a million displaced - Nita Bhalla

Article Courtesy : Reuters AlertNet
Written by: Nita Bhalla

NEW DELHI (AlertNet) - Floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains have killed more than 50 people and displaced almost half a million more in India's south and northeast, say government officials.

Overflowing rivers and reservoirs have inundated low-lying villages mainly in India's oil and tea-rich state of Assam, but also on the opposite side of country in the southwestern coastal state of Kerala.

Flood-affected people sit in a damaged hut
as they wait for relief supplies in Lakhimpur
district, in India's northeastern state of Assam.
FILE PHOTO, July 2009. REUTERS/Stringer

According to the ministry of home affairs, almost one million people have been hit by the floods, forcing almost half a million to leave their water-logged villages and seek shelter in government relief camps.

Mountainous Assam, where five people have drowned, has been the worst-affected with 13 out of 27 districts hit by flooding, including Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Baksa and Bongaigaon.

"Relief and rescue operations have started in all the affected districts," said Assam's chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

Troops from the country's National Disaster Response Force have also been deployed to the area where they are ferrying stranded villagers along with their belongings, on hundreds of rubber and wooden boats to safer areas.

There are around 700 relief camps accommodating over 400,000 people in Assam, officials say, adding that essential aid is being distributed and medical teams are providing assistance.

In Kerala, where more than 23,000 people have been affected and 48 people have died, officials say they have opened 24-hour control rooms in all districts to track the floods and provide early warnings to vulnerable populations.

"We have allocated adequate funds to the district officials to open temporary shelters for those who will be displaced by the rains and to provide them interim relief," said Nivedita Haran, principal secretary of Kerala's revenue department.

LIVELIHOODS LOST

India usually experiences monsoon rains from June to September, which are vital for its agriculture.

But the rains frequently cause landslides and flooding in states like Assam that devastate crops, destroy homes and trigger outbreaks of diseases such as diarrhoea and dysentery.

Aid workers in Assam say the situation is now under control, adding that there has been less rain in recent days and water levels appear to be receding.

But they warn that as poor farming communities begin to return home, they will need support as many have lost their crops.

"There is normally a dry spell between the pre-monsoon and main monsoon which is when people harvest their rice crops, but we have had continuous rain which has resulted in up to 80 percent of crop loss," said Mrinal Gohain, ActionAid's manager for the northeast region.

"These are some of the most impoverished communities and they will need a lot of help to rebuild their livelihoods and start earning some money for food."

Aid workers say it is now essential that a comprehensive survey is done to assess the amount of crop damage and that cash-for-work and food-for-work schemes be introduced to help returning flood-affected communities.

Officials and aid workers however remain cautious, warning that severe flooding could recur as the monsoon season is still in its initial stages and its pattern remains unpredictable.

"The situation is still at a manageable stage, but it's very unpredictable. All depends on rainfall," said Prithvi Mahji, Assam's water resource minister.