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- Floods Assessment Supaul, -

Date 26.08.08

I. Assessment Report ToR

This Assessment Memo is written following a one day field visit at Basantpur, Supaul in conjunction with information collected form partner organisations, the District Administration in Supaul, and using first hand accounts from victims of this disaster. Note however, that much of the field accounts and the information gained therein has not been confirmed and confirmation on many issues and facts raised is not necessarily available from any State or Non-State actor. The reason for this is the simple fact that most of the flood affected areas remain completely cut off from the Western regions of the district unless one travels by motor- boat – which, at present, in any one location, can be counted on the fingers of one’s hand. With the district having a very scarce presence of NGOs and INGOs with a capacity to respond or simply assess the situation, there has been a real gap in critical information.

This memo should be read in conjunction with that prepared by CRS this past week.

II. Current Situation

In the interest of brevity, I will not go into the details of the causes of the flooding – for a brief overview please see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7581642.stm http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Bihar_devastated_by_Kosi/articleshow/3405589.cms http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/PANA-7HUHRQ?OpenDocument

The key factor which has caused these floods to be so severe has been the fact that the breach along an eastern section of the ’s embankment has caused the escaping river water to essentially take on a new path through the eastern Blocks of Basantpur Pratapganj, Chhatapur, and Tribeniganj. These are areas that have been practically ‘flood-free’ for over 50 years. This new path, while flooding all adjacent land along the route, has brought with it strong currents which have literally ripped away the small bridges originally constructed, on the first day[s] of the floods as well as villages and other key infrastructure in its path.

Given its relatively low-incidence of flooding over ’s recent history, Supaul had generally been a district very much overlooked by the Authorities and non-state actors and categorised as a ‘risk-free’ zone. This has meant that there has been absolutely no Disaster Management planning, no coordination mechanism had been put in place, and few NGOs (let alone INGOs) have even got a presence in the area. All in all it created a great deal of uncertainty on the first few days of the flooding. Few knew the full extent of the flooding or what situation the populations there faced. This has only recently started to change as some NGOs have sent assessment teams, and the IAG has started coordinating a response – a first meeting solely on this emergency is scheduled on 27.08.08 at 11am in .

The map attached herewith clearly shows the extent of the flooding in Supaul itself. It must be noted however, that since the map has been drawn, Pratapganj will likely be affected to the same extent as its neighbours. Moreover, outside of the state, has tonight (26.08) been put on alert as the flood waters continue to move south – the District Magistrate of the state has requested all those in low-lying areas to seek shelter on more elevated land. and , districts where numerous rivers merge, will likely see an influx in their water levels.

Page 2 of 12 As per the latest reports from the Authorities, flood waters in Supaul itself are still expected to rise over the coming days, though decreasing in the rate of rise over time – barring any further major low-pressure system, like the one witnessed last week, forming over the region.

Displacement A severe lack of motorised boats has meant that getting an idea of the situation out on the water has been close to impossible. Boats have however been available, powered by ‘punting’ them with a bamboo pole, and these have been brought in from around the state for SAR operations within a given range of a point at which vehicles can reach. The authorities have been running these SAR operations fully, adding police to the boats to prevent chaotic scenes witnessed by some whereby survivors would lunge at a given boat, regardless of the number of people already in them (described by persons met during our visit). These boats were restricted in range given the fact that often quite severe currents continue to form across the flooded regions – making motorised boats the only really safe means of evacuating people.

Nonetheless, SAR has been ongoing and we witnessed this process in full swing today, with women and children being prioritised. No proper data is available regarding how many people have been rescued, how many are yet to be rescued, or how many have died. Stories from those at makeshift / roadside / and formal camps indicate that possibly entire villages may have been destroyed by the flood-waters with few, or none of their inhabitants surviving. Moreover, those arriving have stated that stricken areas are now starting to face acute food shortages given that we are now entering the second week of the emergency.

Generally, those displaced are settling either with hosts, in makeshift camps along roadsides and on elevated land, or in camps formally run by the authorities, though which are without suitable water and sanitation infrastructure. In fact, the current critical needs have been issued by the Government for the following:

• Boats for SAR operations and to assist the logistics operations bringing food, potable water and materials to stricken areas; • Emergency food supplies; • Water (and/or water purification equipment); • Shelter items; • Emergency Sanitation Infrastructure.

It must be noted, that given at a meeting with the District Management, the question of the duration of the displacement was raised, given the fact that there is now effectively a river flowing without any safe crossing point anywhere along its route. The DM replied that this problem would solve itself once the embankment is fixed, though acknowledged that this could even take up to a year. As such, he basically admitted that it is entirely foreseeable that displaced persons will have to be accommodated in camps for anything from 3 to 12 months.

There is as such a critical need for camp management to be fully coordinated if it is to provide basic living conditions to the expected large numbers of displaced for such a period of time. The Government authorities have thus far managed to deliver food and some NFIs at the 13 camps which they have set up

Statistics The following information was received from the DM directly at the meeting this morning:

Affected Cropped Area Houses Affected Affected Affected Area in Damaged Damaged Block Panchayats Villages Population lac Ha. Agriculture Total Basantpur 14 95 178880 0.24 0.0091 44720 19 51 292670 0.31 0.22 73167 Chhatapur 23 66 263117 0.3 0.22 65779 Raghopur 6 19 86913 0.19 0.14 21728 Pratapganj 6 10 72210 0.1 0.07 18052 Page 3 of 12

TOTAL 68 241 893790 1.14 0.6591 223446

Assessment Area: Basantpur Block, Biphin Nagar – Coordinates: N26.51909 ; E086.95129

Boats being mobilised and sent for SAR Operations

Camp organised by the Local Authorities in Biphin Nagar Page 4 of 12

Flooding (1)

Bridge has been completely swept away by the strong currents that form Page 5 of 12

SAR Operations using manpowered boats

Damaged roads eroded by currents in the floods Page 6 of 12

Flooding (2) Page 7 of 12

Police presence during SAR Operations

SAR Operations – priority goes to Women and Children Page 8 of 12

Stranded – groups unable to join to our side due to the fact that the floods destroyed the bridge Page 9 of 12

Cattle losses have thus far not been calculated, though these will be significant – and this will have a significant impact on persons livelihoods

Flooding (3) Page 10 of 12

Flooding (4)

Makeshift roadside camps Page 11 of 12

SAR Operations

Displaced and homeless even within the camps Page 12 of 12

Even in larger more built-up towns persons are being evacuated / rescued