: FLOODS 11 July 2002 Information Bulletin N° 2

This Information Bulletin is for information only. The Federation is not seeking any funding or other assistance from donors for this operation at this time.

The experience of the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) in coping with flood related disasters, combined with recent initiatives, in cooperation with the Federation, to develop the Society’s capacities in Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Response are paying off as the IRCS takes action regarding flash floods which are affecting the western and northeastern parts of India. The Situation

To date, over one million people have been affected by flash floods in India, due to the early arrival of the monsoon in the western and northeastern states. The latest figures for the combined death toll due to floods, torrential rains and landslides is reported to be some 200 persons. Although the situation in Maharastra, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh is improving, reports of heavy rains in the northeastern states of , Bihar, Meghalaya and continue. Consequently, the levels of the major rivers in Assam and Bihar are continuing to rise.

Assam and Bihar have been the worst hit of the northeastern states, where authorities are reporting some 270,000 affected persons in those states alone.

Assam: In Assam, 13,449 hectares of agricultural land have been submerged and as many as 269 villages in the districts of , Lakhimpur, Darrang, Nalbari, Karmrup, Morigaon, and have been affected. Dhemaji district has thus far been the worst-hit and has been isolated from the rest of the country over the past nine days, as large number of wooden bridges and culverts have been damaged disrupting rail and road communication. The state government has provided makeshift shelters for people who lost their homes, and has sanctioned Rps 10.7 million (CHF 370,000) for providing relief .

Bihar: Heavy downpours during the first week of July in Bihar have claimed seven lives and affected 44,000 people in 104 villages of four districts, namely the Sitamarhi, Nalanda, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga. A total of 3,000 hectare of cropland has been inundated. Flooding has disrupted road communication between the district headquarters of Sitamari and Muzaffarpur. The state government has deployed 18 country boats for relief and rescue measures in the flooded areas.

As in Assam and Bihar, floods are a common event in the northeastern part of India during the monsoon season that lasts from July to late September when heavy rains swell the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries that flow through India into Bangladesh to the sea. According to the India Meteorological Department, India is poised for a fourteenth straight normal monsoon this year. The weather forecast warns that Info Bulletin no. 2/2002; India: Floods rains or thundershowers are likely to occur in many places in Assam over the next 24 hours which may further exacerbate the flood situation.

Red Cross/Red Crescent Action The Assam state and district branches of the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) have mobilized IRCS volunteers to assist the local administration with evacuating flood affected people to safer places, while another team of Red Cross volunteers is conducting a need assessment in cooperation with the district administration in the affected districts. Meanwhile, the distribution of the 10,000 pre-postioned family packages commenced in the worst hit areas of Assam.

In Bihar, IRCS local district and sub district branches in flood prone districts are on alert. IRCS branch are assisting the local administration with transporting people and providing essential relief items. Fifteen boats provided by the IRCS National Headquarters are being deployed to the affected areas.

Following the severe floods which occurred over the previous years, IRCS branches in eastern and northeastern states, with support from the Federation and sister societies, have focused on building their capacity in community based disaster preparedness and disaster mitigation initiatives.

The IRCS headquarters maintains daily contact with the branches and the concerned government authorities for updates on the latest developments. Reports of the needs assessment conducted by the Assam and Bihar branches will be available in the following days. A detailed plan of action for relief assistance will be considered based on the reports. Other IRCS state branches in flood prone states have also been placed on alert in the event that water levels continue to rise. Based on experience from IRCS flood relief operations over the past few years, it is estimated that around 35,000 family packages would be needed (for around 150,000 people) in the two worst hit states. If the situation continues to worsen, the combined relief stocks in the three regional warehouses in Delhi and Kolkata for the eastern states, and Gauhati (Assam) for the northeastern states will not be sufficient to meet the needs.

The IRCS will hold a meeting on Friday 12 July with the Federation and the American and Spanish Red Cross representatives in Delhi to review the current situation and the Society’s coping capacities. During the meeting, the establishment and responsibility of a task force will be reinforced for effective coordination of information from the flood affected states and relief efforts with other relief organizations. For a full description of the National Society profile, see www.ifrc.org

For further details please contact : 3 The Indian Red Cross Society; Phone 91 11 371 6441; Fax 91 11 371 7454; email: [email protected] 3 Floyd Barnaby, Head of Delegation; Phone 91 11 322 4206; Fax 91 11 332 4235; e-mail: [email protected] 3 Tatjana Tosic, India desk; Phone 41 22 730 4320; Fax 41 22 733 0395; email: [email protected]

All International Federation Operations seek to adhere to the Code of Conduct and are committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (SPHERE Project) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.

For support to or for further information concerning Federation operations in this or other countries, please access the Federation website at http://www.ifrc.org. For longer-term programmes, please refer to the IRCS’s Gujarat Earthquake: Recovery and Rehabilitation (Appeal 20/01) .

John Horekens Simon Missiri Director Head External Relations Division Asia and Pacific Department