As flood waters continue to rise in eastern India, the Red Cross Red Crescent is working tirelessly to help those affected.
An estimated 2.6 million people have now been displaced by devastating flood waters in India that refuse to recede.
Isolated between the original course of the Kosi River and a new channel that formed when its banks were breached in Nepal, these devastated residents struggle to survive as humanitarian organizations - including the Red Cross Red Crescent - provide assistance in the face of massive logistical challenges. In Bihar alone, nearly 300,000 homes have been destroyed.
“The rising waters destroyed many of the bridges and roadways that would otherwise have been used to access nearly 1,600 villages that desperately need help,” says Peter Ophoff, head of delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in India.
Helicopters
“As a result, the Indian Red Cross Society and others involved in relief efforts are relying on boats and helicopters to provide assistance.”
The Indian Red Cross Society is playing a major role in coordinating and delivering this humanitarian aid, and the efforts of its Bihar branch demonstrate the importance of building volunteer teams at the local level. Sixty lives were saved by Red Cross Red Crescent search and rescue volunteers, who moved many stranded people to safe ground.
The Indian Red Cross has been distributing tents, tarpaulins and mosquito netting. It has also deployed three water and sanitation units that can each provide vital clean water for drinking and improved hygiene. Neighbouring branches have deployed first aid and ambulance resources to support the emerging medical needs of flood victims.
Emergency
For Prof. (Dr) S.P. Agarwal, Secretary General of the Indian Red Cross Society, this flooding is a major priority. “We are deeply concerned about Bihar’s situation, which seems to be getting worse day by day,” he said, announcing that additional emergency resources were on their way from the organization’s national headquarters in New Delhi.
He also noted that his volunteers and staff are much better prepared today to meet the needs of those affected by the floods, following intensive preparedness efforts during the past year.
During 2007, one of the most devastating monsoons in recent memory displaced 57 million people and caused more than 3,300 to lose their lives. Today, he says, “the Indian Red Cross Society benefits from seven decades of flood response activity. We are equipped with the best disaster response, mitigation and preparedness tools.”
Clearly, as the wrath of the rising Kosi River continues to be felt, those tools and volunteers will play an essential, life-saving role in the days, weeks, and even months ahead.
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Flood-affected people wait for relief supplies at Chondipur, in Bihar. (REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/courtesy www.alertnet.org)
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Flood-affected people are evacuated to safer grounds by a rescue team at Chondipur village in Bihar. (REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/courtesy www.alertnet.org)
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