Revisiting the horror of Kosi river floods in Bihar - August 2008

What happened?

- 18th August: Breach in the Kosi embarkment near India - Nepal border.
- The extent of flooding can be visualized by considering that the record 25,000 m3/sec. flow could cover 2,160 square kilometers a meter deep in 24 hours, or that it would sustain a flow of water moving one meter per second (86 km in 24 hours), one meter deep and twenty-five kilometers wide.
- The Indian army and non-government organizations operated the biggest flood rescue operation in India in more than 50 years

Who was / How may were affected?
- More than 1,000 (One Thousand) people believed to be dead. Official number is one hundred in Bihar. Many bodies seen floating in water.
- Around 3.5 million people affected (Houses were washed away)
- The floods destroy more than 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of farmlands.
- People were unable to change clothes for 20-25 days.
- Many relief camps are over flooded. Children are born in camps, many women were pregnant.
- Acute shortage of food, clothing and medicines at the camps.
- Hungry me ran for kilometers together to chase the helicopters that were dropping food packets.

Administrative Lapse

SOS fax messages were sent by the engineers at Kosi dam but they were not attended to by the relevant official as he was on leave. No other officer was deputed to act on the fax messages and they had piled upon the bureaucrat's desk. Nitish Mishra, Bihar's disaster management minister acknowledged this and said action would be taken once all this is over.

A good blog on the rescue and relief operations by an NGO.