1

BHARATH: SUMMER HEAT AND FLOODS IN - 2017

The onset of the southwest monsoon advances due to a deep depression

over the Bay of Bengal. The Me T department had said that rains were

likely to begin in Kerala by May 30-31, marking the onset of monsoon in the

country.

In parts of New Delhi, the mercury was below the 40-degree mark with

some areas in the city after witnessing rainfall.

In Bihar, at least 23 people, including eight women, were killed in separate

lightning and rain-related incidents.

Eighteen people were killed across 8 districts in a lightning strike, while 5

were killed in separate incidents of wall collapse during a storm that blew at

a speed of 50-70km per hour in different panchayat areas of the West

Champaran district of the state. Of the 18 people killed in incidents of

lightning strike in 8 districts, 5 persons were killed in East Champaran, 4 in

Jamui, one in West Champaran, 2 each in Munger, Bhagalpur and

Madhepura and one each in Vaishali and Samastipur districts. The state’s

Disaster Management Department Additional Secretary had said.

At least 23 people were killed in separate incidents of lightning strike

and wall collapse triggered by squall in Bihar on Sunday [Aug 13], although

hot weather conditions continued in many parts of the country.

HEAT RELATED:

Meanwhile, the death toll due to sunstroke climbed to 12 in Odisha even as

rains triggered by the depression over the Bay of Bengal and a nor’wester

in some areas brought respite from scorching heat.

2

Two more deaths were reported in Sambalpur and Bargarh district. With

this, four heat-related deaths have been reported from Sambalpur, while

three deaths each took place in Angul and Bargarh districts and one each

in Balangir and Bhadrak, the office of the Special Relief Commissioner

(SRC) said.

The mercury breached the 40-degree mark in only four places in the state.

Angul was the hottest place, recording a maximum of 42.1 degrees Celsius

while Hirakud registered a high of 40.8 degrees Celsius. Heatwave

continued unabated in Haryana and Punjab with Hissar being the hottest

place in the two states, recording a maximum of 43.2 degrees Celsius.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a high of 39.3 degrees Celsius, while in

Ludhiana and Patiala the maximum temperatures were 38.5 degrees

Celsius and 37.6 degrees Celsius respectively

Rajasthan too reeled under hot weather conditions with the mercury settling

above the 43-degree mark in most parts of the state. However, maximum

temperatures saw a dip by one to two degrees in comparison to yesterday.

Churu was the hottest place in the state, with a maximum of 47 degrees

Celsius, followed by 45.6 degrees Celsius in Pilani and 44.6 degrees

Celsius in Sriganganagar.

The mercury in Bikaner and Kota settled at 44.5 degrees Celsius and 44.4

degrees Celsius respectively.

Una was hottest place in the state with a maximum temperature of 39.2

degrees Celsius, followed by Nahan at 35.5 degrees Celsius, Sundernagar

3

at 33.7 degrees Celsius, Bhuntar 33.6 degrees Celsius and Dharamsala

32.4 degrees Celsius.

In Himachal Pradesh, hailstorm and rain lashed Shimla and its surrounding

areas affecting normal life.

Rainfall also occurred in parts of Kerala, Lakshadweep, Karnataka, Tamil

Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

At least 23 people were killed in separate incidents of lightning strike

and wall collapse triggered by squall in Bihar on Sunday [Aug 13], although

hot weather conditions continued in many parts of the country.

BIHAAR FLOODS- LATE AUGUST 2017

Patna: At least 41 people have lost their lives and around 65.37 lakh

hit by floods in 12 districts in Bihar, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying

heavy rains in Nepal and parts of the state in the past three days have

resulted in the deluge.

The Chief Minister also conducted an aerial surevy of the worst-hit districts

of the state's Seemanchal region to take stock of the situation.

Principal Secretary of the Disaster Management department Pratyay Amrit

confirmed that so far 41 deaths have taken place due to floods.

While 20 people died in Araria, 6 in Sitamarhi, 5 in Kisanganj, 3 each in

East Champaran, West Champaran and Darbhanga districts and one in

Madhubani.

The State Weather office forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at one or two

places in northern and southern parts of the state next day.

4

An estimated 65.37 lakh population of 12 districts is affected by flood, Amrit

said. The affected districts are Kisanganj, Araria, Purnea, Katihar, East

Champaran, West Champaran, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi,

Sheohar, Supual and Madhepura.

A total of 22 NDRF teams, seven Army teams and 70 boats are engaged in

flood relief and rescue operation, Amrit said.

He said that 1.82 lakh marooned people have been brought to safer places

and a total of 48,120 people put up in 254 camps in flood-hit areas.

Meanwhile, after conducting an aerial survey of Purnea Kisanganj, Araria

and Katihar districts, Kumar said that heavy rains in Nepal and parts of

Bihar in the past three days have triggered floods in the state.

"It’s akin to flash floods," he told reporters after conducting the aerial

survey.

Araria district was the worst hit as flood waters have entered the district

headquarter town. Flood waters have also entered areas in Kisanganj,

three blocks of Purnea and one block of Katihar, Kumar said.

Officials of disaster management, road construction and rural development

departments would make an aerial survey tomorrow to make a report on

damage caused by flood.

The Bihar CM thanked the Centre for its prompt response in providing

assistance to the state after he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi

over phone yesterday.

5

"I thank the Centre for timely help to the marooned people of Bihar.

Besides, Army column sent to Purnea, four teams of NDRF have arrived in

Bihar yesterday and six more NDRF teams landed today to assist state to

take up relief and rehabilitation work on a war footing," he added.

He said he also spoke to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence

Minister Arun Jaitley on the situation.

Kumar also directed district magistrates of flood-hit areas to make an aerial

trip to assess the problem and arrange effective relief and rehabilitation

accordingly.

Meanwhile, East Central Railway (ECR) said rail traffic has been hit

between Kisanganj and Hatwar in West Bengal as water is flowing above

danger level at a place in Katihar division. A total of 33 trains have been

cancelled and 11 short- terminated, ECR said in a statement. Prominent

cancelled trains included New Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express,

Alipurdwar-Delhi Mahananda Express, Guwahati-Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak

Express, North-East Express and Ajmer-Kisanganj Garib Nawaz Express.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi also thanked the Centre for help

to marooned people of Bihar.

***

Bihar Flood: 119 dead, 98 lakh people in 16 districts affected

(Dated 20-8-2017)

The flood situation in Bihar worsened as the death toll mounted to 119 due

to the deluge, which has affected nearly 98 lakh people in 16 districts,

forcing postponement of examination and cancellation of trains. The toll

6

due to the floods triggered by rains in Nepal and northern parts of the state

was 72 yesterday, and 73.44 lakh people in 14 districts were hit. Saharsa

and Khagaria were the latest districts to be affected during the day, Special

Secretary in the Disaster Management Department, Anirudh Kumar, said.

Araria district accounted for 23 deaths, followed by Sitamarhi (12),

Kisanganj, East Champaran, West Champaran and Supual (11 each),

Madhubani and Katihar (7 each), Madhepura and Purnea (5 each),

Darbhanga and Saharsa (4 each), Gopalganj and Khagaria (3 each) and

Sheohar (2), he said.

The health department has launched a toll-free number '104' to provide

information on floods, Principal Secretary of Health R K Mahajan at the

press briefing said. He was accompanied by Principal Secretary State

Disaster Management Department Pratyay Amrit. Though the Met office

has forecast possibility of rain in southern Bihar for one more week, there

would be less rainfall in Nepal and northern parts of Bihar. Mahajan said

hospitals have been directed to maintain a sufficient stock of anti-snake

and anti-rabies injections. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar accompanied by his

deputy Sushil Kumar Modi and Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh

conducted an aerial survey of Gopalganj, Bagha, Bettiah in West

Champaran, and Raxual and Motihari in East Champaran.

The chief minister took feedback about flood relief operation in West

Champaran from officials at Bettiah helipad and inspected a place where

food packets were being readied, an official release said. Following the

chief minister's order, district magistrates of Sitamarhi, Sheohar,

Darbhanga, Madhubani, West Champaran and East Champaran also

conducted aerial surveys in their areas. Amrit said that 3.59 lakh people

7

have been rescued to safer places. Out of them, 2.13 lakh were put up in

504 relief camps in different places while 1,112 community kitchens are

feeding 3.19 lakh flood victims, he said. Food packets are being airdropped

in inundated areas while in places where flood waters have receded they

are being supplied through panchayats, the officer said. Amrit said that 114

boats of the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), 92 of the SDRF

(State Disaster Response Force) and 70 of the Army were deployed for

relief and rescue related works.

Mahajan said that 'boat ambulances' are also being operated by the

administration. In case of shortage of doctors in primary health centres, the

administration would hire private doctors, he said. Mahajan, also the

Principal Secretary of Education, said that examination scheduled to start

tomorrow in Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, has been postponed. Principal

Secretary, Road Construction, Amrit Lal Meena said that 124 roads,

including national highways, have been damaged in the floods. Rural

Works Department Principal Secretary Bipin Kumar said that 222 hand

pumps have been disinfected in Araria and 219 in Kisanganj so that

citizens could get purified drinking water.

Fifty 'ambulatory vans' are working in flood-hit areas to attend to sick

animals and 196 veterinary doctors have been deputed, Animal Husbandry

Principal Secretary Vijaylakshmi said. Meanwhile, train services continued

to be affected. An East Central Railways statement said that 39 trains have

been cancelled as water overtopped tracks. The cancelled trains included

12235 Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani, 12424 New Delhi-Dibrugarh

Rajdhani till August 20. Many trains have been short-terminated, it said.

Commandant of 9th battalion of the NDRF, Vijay Sinha, said that the

8

force's personnel rescued 25 pregnant women, 55 animals and saved eight

from drowning. The NDRF team yesterday facilitated the birth of a baby girl

on its boat in Madhubani district.

***

Aug. 21-2017

253 Dead, 1 Crore Affected As Bihar's Flood Crisis Worsens:

Patna:

The weather department said Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnea are

likely to witness generally cloudy sky with the possibility of rain or

thundershower tomorrow.

According to the Disaster Management Department, 4.21 lakh people have

been shifted to 1,358 relief camps in different parts of Bihar.

As of Saturday, 202 people had died and 1.21 crore people were affected

in 18 districts.

A disturbing, widely circulated video showed a family of three - a woman, a

girl and a man - being swept away in water in Bihar's Araria district as a

bridge they were walking on collapsed. One of the worst hit districts, 57

people died in Araria alone.

Some of the other affected districts are Sitamarhi, West Champaran,

Katihar, East Champaran, Madhubani, Supaul and Madhepura.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the state government will help

people in the flood-hit districts to rebuild their lives. "There will be no

9

shortage of funds...The disaster victim has the first right to the

government's funds," he said.

Nitish Kumar had instructed officials for intensive airdropping of food

packets in Kursakanta, Palasi, Sikti and Jokihaat in Araria and the Sugauli

area in East Champaran.

Officials said the major rivers in Bihar - Koshi, Mahananda, Gandak,

Bagmati and Ganga - have breached banks due to excessive rains.

Heavy monsoon rains have caused floods in several states including

Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh. In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar's

neighbouring state, 69 people have died in floods. The Assam floods,

apart from destroying crops and homes in the last three months, have killed

hundreds of small and big animals in Assam's forests.

Four more people died in Assam floods despite the flood situation in the

state improving slightly. Assam Nearly 19 lakh people still affected in 15

districts of the state due to the natural calamity.

10

*****

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT (Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India) 5B, IP Estate, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, New Delhi-110002 (India) T: +91 11 23702432, 23705583, 23766146, F: +91 11 23702442, 23702446 I: www.nidm.gov.in

Bihar Floods: 2007- (A Field Report)

In recent past flooding and the associated risks have been rising with

increased frequency in India which could be attributed to a number of

factors, including changes in rainfall pattern, increased frequency of

extreme events, in land use changes and development into floodprone

areas as a result of socio-economic demand. Of late, it has been realized

that climate changes is causing significant impact on the hydrological

system and increasing the risk and vulnerability to flooding. Human lives,

property, environment and socio-economic are at increasing risk due to

flooding.

Bihar is highly vulnerable to floods on account of its geo-climatic

conditions and various other attributing factors. The State is the most flood

prone in the country in terms of percentage of land susceptible to flooding.

Total flood prone area of the State is about 68.80 lakh hectares which

accounts for 73.06 percent of its total geographical area and 17.2 percent

of the total flood prone area in the country. The State has witnessed

devastating floods in recent years. In fact, South West Monsoon rain has

become a synonyms of floods in North Bihar plains resulting in enormous

loss of life and property and bringing untold human miseries and sufferings

to the people.

11

The floods in Bihar during the South West Monsoon 2007 (July to

September 2007) portray yet another familiar picture of the State’s

vulnerability to recurrent flood and is a grim reminder of the extensive

devastations destruction and disruption caused by floods. The floods of

2007 make a break from the past in terms of; its intensity, unpredictability

and its un-seasonality. About twenty days of incessant rains, 300 to 400%

over and above normal trends in second half of July, had been

unprecedented. This was again repeated in August and simultaneously,

heavy rainfall in the upper catchments areas of Nepal compounded the

problem.

This disaster event is recorded by the National Institute of Disaster

Management to draw important lessons from floods and its management.

The practical problems, dilemmas and challenges and suggested

measures for reducing the loss of life and property due to major floods

delineates the study clearly and establishes the needs for a comprehensive

approach on flood hazards with a broader perspective of flood plain

management, non-structural approaches, and institutional innovations

which may be used for comprehensive flood control strategies.

Among natural disasters, flood is the most common and a regular

annual phenomenon in Bihar. It results in loss of life and property. The very

geographical setting of Bihar coupled with hydrometeorology, hydrology,

geomorphology and topography prevailing in the region makes it one of the

worst flood affected region in the world. The North Bihar is crisscrossed by

the major rivers such as: the Ghaghra, the Gandak, the Bagmati, the

Kamla-Balan, the Kosi and the Mahananda which all, meet the mighty

Ganga on its left bank. All these rivers originate in Nepal from the

12

Himalayas. With the increasing deforestation due to the reclamation of

areas for occupation and obtaining fuel for domestic requirements, the

vegetative cover in the catchments areas of Nepal have been increasingly

getting eroded. With this, rivers carry more silt and over time their carrying

capacity has significantly reduced. These factors combined with heavy and

sustained rainfall lead to floods in North Bihar. The trend shows that the

intensity and frequency of floods in Bihar Plains have increased over the

years causing human suffering and destruction of agriculture, habitation

and infrastructure.

There are many Indian States which are prone to floods; some of

them witness flood as a routine phenomenon every year while some

experience draught as well as flood in the same region in different years,

and in different seasons of the same year.

The States like Assam, Bihar and Orissa have seen increase in the

intensity of floods from year after year. Floods have been killing people and

cattle, destroying property and infrastructure and rendering agriculture

lands useless in massive scale. The large number of interventions both

structural and non-structural to prevent and control floods and many other

development programmes; "Flood prevention and control" remain elusive in

the country. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab Assam, Rajasthan, Haryana and

Orissa are the most flood prone States in terms of area liable to flood. The

rivers Brahamputra, Ganges and their tributaries carry tons of debris and

water throughout the year. In monsoon, the rain in the catchments area

provides more water to the river, eventually the water flow exceeds the

capacity of river resulting to flooding in the whole area with enough water to

cause havoc.

13

Bihar flood toll reaches 418; 1.67 crore affected in 19 districts

25th August 2017

PATNA: The flood situation in Bihar worsened on Friday with the toll

mounting to 418, with 1.67 crore people in 19 districts being affected by the

deluge.

The flood waters, however, have receded in some places, prompting

many to return to their homes. The number of relief camps also dropped to

368 from 624, in which 1.59 lakh people were staying, a release by disaster

management department said.

Araria district alone accounted for 87 deaths followed by Sitamarhi

43, Katihar 40, West Champaran 36, East Champaran 32, Madhubani 28,

Darbhanga 26, Kishanganj 24, Madhepura 22, Gopalganj 20, Supual 16,

Purnea nine, Saharsa eight; Khagaria, Saran and Muzaffarpur seven each,

Sheohar four and Samastipur two. No deaths were reported from Siwan

district, it said.

A total of 3.54 lakh people had food in 1,403 community kitchens

operational in the marooned areas of Bihar, the release said.

A total of 28 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams

comprising 1,152 personnel with 118 boats are taking part in rescue and

relief operations, it said.

Apart from NDRF, 16 teams of the State Disaster Response Force

comprising 466 personnel are helping people in the flood-hit areas with the

help of 92 boats. A total of 630 army personnel in seven teams are

assisting in relief and rescue operations with 70 boats, the release added.

14

Bihar moots new drainage plan to tackle floodwaters

Patna: The flood situation in Bihar remained grim with the death

toll reaching 341 on Tuesday, an official said. A Bihar Disaster

Management Department official said 146.19 lakh persons in 19

districts have been affected by the floods.

According to an official release, till date 7,61,774 people have

been evacuated to safe places by the rescue teams of the Army,

the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster

Response Force, while the government has set up 1,085 relief

camps in which 2,29,097 people are living.

"For the flood victims, 1,608 community kitchens have been set

up," the official said.

15