S Asian floods worry UN, UP, Bihar battle deluge

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New Delhi: Floodwaters started receding in some areas of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday but thousands of villages are still marooned and two million people have abandoned homes.

At least 134 people have died in the state in house collapses, lightning and boat mishaps and over 2 lakh acre of paddy fields has been destroyed since the beginning of the monsoon season.

Shravasti, Maharajganj, Gonda and Gorakhpur are among the worst affected districts. "About 180,000 people have been evacuated from 1,400 marooned villages in large parts of eastern UP," state Relief Commissioner Umesh Sinha told IANS.

The Rapti, Ghaghra, Kuano, Rohin and Kunhra rivers were either receding or have become constant, but the Ghaghra and Rapti rivers are flowing above the danger mark in Barhalganj.

Rivers swell in Bihar, 11 dead in Orissa

As many as 82 people have died in Bihar and crops in 9.18 lakh hectares have been destroyed.

PTI quoting officials of the State Disaster Management department said floods have affected over 11 million people in 4,822 villages spread over 19 districts. The administration estimates 70,603 houses worth Rs 22.01 crore and government property worth Rs 12.12 crore were destroyed.

The state government admits adequate relief hasn't reached those affected. In Madhubani district, one person died when the police opened fire on a crowd of flood victims.

A Central Water Commission report said the Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Adhvara, Kosi, Mahananda and Gandak are receding but are still above the danger mark at several places. The Indian Air Force has been called in to drop food and medical supplies and has allotted four choppers for relief work.

In Orissa, 11 people have died and several others injured in heavy rain and lightning in the last two days. Many places in the twin cities of Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack are waterlogged. The Met department has forecast more rains for most parts in the state in the next two days.

Massive crop damage in Bangladesh

Across the border in Bangladesh 120 people have been killed and more than eight million displaced in floods.

Thirty-eight of the country’s 64 districts in the north, centre and east are under water and standing crops spread over 5.8 million acres have been damaged.

The Brahmaputra and the Meghna rivers have dropped in the worst affected northern districts, but the Padma River was still rising at almost all points and was flowing above danger levels in the centre of the country, an AFP report said.

The UN has said floods in South Asia which have killed at least 320 people India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal are the worst in living memory.

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