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9 July 2002 By Patrick Fuller in New Delhi, India Over the past week, monsoon rains have lashed the west and north east of India as well as northern Bangladesh causing extensive flooding. Hundreds of thousands are homeless across both countries. In the two worst affected states in India, Assam and Bihar, heavy rains have triggered flash floods, breaching embankments. Water levels flowing down tributaries of the Ganges and Bhramaputra river systems have risen above danger levels. In Assam, upwards of 200,000 people have been affected by floods and an estimated 50,000 have already fled their homes to find safety elsewhere. The Assam branch of the Indian Red Cross is monitoring the situation closely and although many of the districts currently affected suffer from seasonal flooding each year, worse is expected to come as monsoon rains continue into September. "The scale of the flooding that we are seeing is worrying. It's quite widespread and it's quiet early in the monsoon season, says S.C. Goyal, deputy secretary of the Indian Red Cross. "If the rains persist the situation could worsen considerably in the next two weeks." In the lead up to the monsoon season, the Indian Red Cross stockpiled 10,000 family kits which were pre-positioned in regional warehouse in Guwahati, the capital of Assam. The family kits are comprised largely of relief materials such as tarpaulins, blankets, mosquito nets and water purification tablets. Mobile medical teams are also on standby to move into the affected areas by boat if required. In Bangladesh, flooding in northern and north western districts has so far largely been caused by heavy rains which have inundated many districts. However, worse is yet to come as the flood waters from northern India are expected to swell the rivers flowing into Bangladesh over the next week. Some district units of the Bangladesh Red Crescent have already begun small scale distributions of relief items at a local level and further relief materials have been stockpiled in Dhaka. "Across the region we are on high alert," explains Bob McKerrow, head of the Federation's regional delegation in Delhi. "According to various studies, global warming has certainly played a role in the unpredictable weather patterns that we are seeing across south Asia. As well as having more intense storms, we've experienced abnormally high temperatures in May. On top of the monsoon, river systems are having to cope with an increase of snow melt coming down from the Himalayas." Related Links: 8 July 2002: Information bulletin - India Floods More on: India |
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