Floods ... Rapidly Deteriorating Situation

• Seven districts completely cut off.
• Several hundred thousand people marooned.
• A train carrying more than 1,300 passengers almost swept off the rails in flash floods. All passengers were, however, rescued.
• A local partner NGO working with the mentally and physically challenged reports that their Hospital in Burdwan is flooded and 147 patients are without food and water
• Government and district authorities are appealing for help
• Low pressure zone persists and more rains anticipated.

Incessant rainfall over the last 48 hours has inundated several districts in West Bengal, namely Birbhum, Murshidabad, Burdwan, Hooghly, Uttar Dinajpur, Malda, and North 24 Parganas. Among these the worst affected are Murshidabad and Birbhum. These districts are completely cut off from the rest of the state. The official death toll reported is seven, but the media reports a death toll of more than 25.

Army and the paramilitary forces have been called in to assist the civil authorities with relief work.

According to forecasts, the low pressure zone persists over the state of Bihar and is expected to result in more rainfall in the next few days. Water accumulation in all the barrages and dams in the region has crossed the danger mark and at least three barrages have released several hundred thousand cusecs of water.

Birbhum

About 600,000 people in 8 blocks are affected by floods and 9,000 villages are inundated. Suri the district head quarters recorded 835 mm of rain in 24 hours and another district town Rampurhat recorded 735mm. All roads and rail tracks have been damaged and communications cut. Relief materials have been sent and the army is assisting in relief and rescue operations.

Murshidabad

The District has recorded 600mm of rainfall. All 26 blocks are flooded and more than 300,000 people are marooned in the flooded villages. The national highway NH-34 passing through the district has been breached in 5 different points cutting off all communication to other North Bengal districts. Beharampur town, the district headquarters is also under water, hampering coordination of relief efforts by the district authorities.

Burdwan

Available reports show that more than 3000 houses have collapsed. Rail, road and telephone communications have been disrupted and detailed information is not available. The Kalna – Katwa region of the district is severely affected.

The flood situation in the districts of Uttar Dinajpur, Hooghly, Nadia and North 24-Parganas are equally grim. Due to the disruption caused by the floods and continuous rains for over 72 hours, it is not possible to contact the appropriate authorities for information on the flood damages.

In Malda a red alert has been issued as the water levels in Ganges, Phulahar and Mahananda have risen beyond the danger mark. More than 100,000 people have already been evacuated from the low-lying regions.

The district authorities of Birbhum and Murshidabad have approached LWS for immediate relief intervention. State level ministers have also been in touch with the LWS India Headquarters for planning relief intervention.

ACT CO has contacted ACT member Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) and is awaiting further information. An ACT appeal may be forthcoming.