India floods
We are appealing for £2 million to help 10 million people affected by catastrophic floods in India.
Six months after India experienced its worst flooding in more than half a century, people in the northern state of Bihar are still suffering.
Four million people were affected when the Kosi River overflowed last August. Some 393 people were killed, 300,000 people were stranded and 250,000 need to be evacuated.
Hundreds of schools were destroyed and more than 20,000 children in Bihar have still not returned to regular schooling.
Vikash Kumar, 10, has not been able to go to school since the floods damaged the school building. Now he spends his day searching for food to eat. “No one goes to school because they have to look for food,” he said. “I miss school.”
Surti Devi, 40, spent three months living on the side of the road. “I made a house out of sticks and my sari on the road. We were half naked so people threw things out of the cars.”
She and her family have now returned to their village and survive by foraging for snails and water lilies seeds to eat, even though they are contaminated with floodwater. “I used to think, if we had died, it would have been better than life.”
The floods totally destroyed Raj Kishore Sada’s rice crop and he hasn’t been able to plant another one because the paddy fields are still water-logged. With no money and no means of income, Raj has taken out a loan and is currently 500,000 rupees in debt (about £7,130). It will take him more than 30 years to pay off the loan.
People’s homes, livelihoods and families are affected nearly every year by flooding in Bihar. An estimated 37% of the state – which is one of the poorest in India – is flood-prone. Many people would like to migrate to other areas but, without the money to do so, all they can do it sit and wait for the next flood to strike.
Help us to reach families who have lost everything.
With more rain expected, and no signs of the monsoon rains easing, the situation for families and children in India is getting desperate. Already, around 2,400 people have lost their lives in the worst flooding seen in Bihar and Orissa in over 50 years.
18 districts across the state of Bihar have been affected. Communities are not adequately equipped to deal with floods in these areas, which are not traditionally flood-prone.
In Orissa, the Mahanadi River has 61 breaches along its embankments, which has resulted in widespread flooding in all directions. Villages and farmland have been devastated and an estimated 1,500 roads have been cut off by the flood waters.
Orissa and Bihar are already two of the poorest states in India. Now millions of people have lost their homes and their livelihoods.
Over 1,000 relief camps have been established in these two states, housing thousands of adults and children who have been left homeless. But around 600,000 people in Orissa are still said to be stranded and unable to access safety.
Children in India
In an emergency, children are always the most vulnerable. Due to the flooding children have been left with no shelter, clean water, food or medical care and we are deeply concerned about the effect that this will have on their health, nutrition, protection and education.
We are also deeply concerned about children’s protection. The number of vulnerable children increases during an emergency, as they can become displaced from their homes and separated from their families. At this time they are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and trafficking. Bihar has one of the worst records for child trafficking. During the floods in 2007, 2,500 children were reported to have been trafficked.
Watch a short clip to hear more about the situation for chidren in India.
Photos from Bihar
Access to the relief camp at Bathnaha is currently flooded. Over five million people are said to have been affected by the floods. Save the Children has already begun responding to the emergency by giving out food, water purification tablets, tarpaulins for shelter and medical assistance.
Families and children walk through flooded water outside Bathnaha camp, Araria.
The Bihar region of India is facing crisis since the Kosi River breached its banks, on 26 August 2008. The 3km breach in the embankment continues to grow by 200m a day, meaning many more may be at risk in the coming days.
A family wait on the steps of their house in the Bihar region of India. More than 225,000 houses have been damaged so far in the floods.
A family stands on the roof of their home surrounded by floodwater. Over 57,000 people have already been evacuated from the worst hit areas, with thousands more at risk as floodwaters continue to spread.
Bridges, railways tracks and other infrastructures have also been damaged or submerged by the flooding and essential commodities, including food, must now be transported by boat.
A family sit on a makeshift raft built from banana tree trunks, as they abandon their home with a few belongings.
Displaced families and children sit on the embankment. Almost 1.5 million people in over 1,000 villages across 13 districts in Bihar are already living on embankments and roads.
A group of displaced children share a bowl of corn on the grass. An estimated 500,000 children are now living without access to basic needs such as food and water.
Farmers try to herd their cows to safety through the flooded street. Many families have now lost their farms and therefore their livelihoods in the flooding.
A displaced woman stands on the road by her temporary bed in the Bihar region, India. Villagers are not expected to be able to return home for another two or three months.
Women and children collect corn from the food distribution points at a displacement camp in Bihar. Save the Children will be giving out food, water purification tablets, tarpaulins for shelter and providing medical assistance for families and children affected by the flooding.
Save the Children's response
In Bihar we're aiming to help 60,000 people, including 40,000 children who have been affected by the floods. In Orissa we aim to reach 20,000 families and approximately 60,000 children with life saving support.
Child friendly spaces will also be set up where children can get support to overcome the emotional stress of the disaster and play in a safe environment, protected from the risk of trafficking.
We have also set up a family tracing and reunification project, in conjunction with UNICEF, the Government of Bihar, the Indian Red Cross and other local NGOs. Together we hope to return separated children back to their families.
We are also providing:
- household utilities and cooking equipment such as pots and pans to displaced families
- hygiene kits containing items such as towels, soap and mosquitto nets and providing medical assistance throughout the camps - and promoting sanitation to stop the spread of water-borne diseases.
- tarpaulin for shelter
What you can do
Help us to protect vulnerable children, and to provide vital supplies to families who have lost everything. Make a donation to Save the Children's emergency appeal.
Organise a fundraising event or collection. Using our fundraising guide decided what you wish to do, then let us know so we can give you all the support you need.
