The Red Cross Red Crescent is continuing to bring shelter, food and relief to many thousands of people affected by flooding in India’s Bihar and Assam states.
While communities in the worst-hit Madhepura, Supaul, Saharsa and Araria areas of Bihar continue to reel under the impact of floods, there has been a substantial improvement in the situation as the flood waters recede.
However, in the north-eastern Assam State, heavy rainfall has resulted in increased flooding over the last two weeks. According to reports, the weather pattern in the region is stabilizing and water levels are returning to normal. However, additional flooding may be expected between 5 and 10 October 2008.
Rescue
The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) has been working tirelessly in the flood-affected areas, supporting rescue efforts and evacuations, and distributing relief supplies such as family packs, kitchen sets, mosquito nets and basic food supplies.
IRCS has deployed three water and sanitation units capable of producing 5,000 litres of clean water an hour for drinking and hygiene purposes. Another six units are either in transit or on standby. Trained IRCS volunteers have also been distributing basic medicines and leading health education discussions in temporary camps to help reduce the risk of diseases among those displaced by the floods.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has provided one million Swiss Francs (885,200 US dollars/626,350 euro) from its disaster relief emergency fund (DREF) to support the Indian Red Cross. The funds will be used to procure and transport tents, tarpaulins, kitchen sets and blankets.
Separated
The IRCS is also working to reunite families separated by the disaster. Secretary General Prof (Dr) S. P. Agarwal has said that the “need to activate the tracing cell at Bihar state branch has been felt strongly.”
He added that a five-member team - consisting of tracing delegates from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Family News Service, coordinators from the IRCS headquarters and representatives from the state branches of Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and Jammu and Kashmir - is now working to bring separated families back together.
Two Red Cross Red Crescent assessment teams left this week from New Delhi for different parts of flood-affected Bihar. These teams include members from the IRCS, IFRC, the Spanish Red Cross and the American Red Cross. They will work closely with the IRCS, which continues to play a leadership role in the response to this ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Relief
Peter Ophoff, the head of the IFRC’s India office, recently visited a government-run camp for 2,000 displaced people, which is supported by eight IRCS volunteers who regularly distribute relief items and provide safe drinking water.
“It is very well run,” he said, “The IRCS is running a water and sanitation plant there and has distributed kitchen sets to a number of families.”
Ophoff said that immediate needs among the affected communities included clothing and kitchen sets, and additional volunteers to speed up the relief effort. Health care also needs to be stepped up, as diarrhoea, dysentery and pneumonia-like conditions have been reported from several camps in Saharsa and Supaul districts.
A vaccination drive has been implemented by the state government in the six most affected districts of Supaul, Saharsa, Purnia, Bhagalpur, Khagaria and Madhepura. Health authorities have set up medical camps, while mobile medical teams have been deployed by boats in the water-logged areas.
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The Red Cross Red Crescent is continuing to bring shelter, food and relief to many thousands of people affected by flooding in India’s Bihar and Assam states. (REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/courtesy www.alertnet.org)
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The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) has been working tirelessly in the flood-affected areas, supporting rescue efforts and evacuations, and distributing relief supplies such as family packs, kitchen sets, mosquito nets and basic food supplies. (REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/courtesy www.alertnet.org)
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