Floods Ravage India’s Bihar State as Nearly Five Million People Affected

Nearly five million people have been affected by severe flooding in India’s Bihar state following heavy rainfall that caused all seven major rivers in the region to rise above their danger levels.

The state’s Water Resources Department confirmed on Tuesday that the rivers had exceeded the prescribed danger marks, raising concerns over further flooding in several communities.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said the government was providing essential assistance to families affected by the disaster.

“Food, clean drinking water, medicines and other essential facilities are being continuously provided to the needy families,” Chaudhary said in a statement.

Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary disclosed that financial assistance of 7,000 rupees ($72) had been transferred to more than 827,000 flood-affected families across the state.

According to Bihar’s Disaster Management Department, the floods have so far affected almost five million people.

The chief minister said the government’s immediate focus was to ensure that every affected household received relief, while reconstruction efforts would be carried out with the goal of improving communities and reducing their vulnerability to future disasters.

The flooding, which began earlier this month, has reportedly claimed at least 20 lives, according to local media reports, while large areas of farmland have been submerged.

Bihar, one of India’s states most vulnerable to flooding, lies downstream from Nepal, where deadly floods were recorded last month.

Residents in affected communities have described difficult living conditions as floodwaters continue to disrupt daily life.

Chandan Kumar Mahto, a 46-year-old resident of Saran district, said his community faces flooding almost every year but residents have been left struggling to access basic necessities.

“We are helpless… we are struggling for food, safe drinking water and milk for children,” Mahto said.

The Bihar government, which is controlled by a coalition that includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, said it had established 13 relief camps to support displaced residents.

More than 1,000 community kitchens have also been activated, while nearly 1,800 boats have been deployed to assist with rescue and relief operations in flood-hit areas.

The federal government has additionally sent a team to Bihar to carry out a detailed assessment of the damage caused by the flooding.

Lakhmania Devi, 42, from Vaishali district, said she and her family were forced to take refuge on the roof of their home after floodwaters entered the building.

“We live like nomads, without a kitchen to prepare food and drink dirty water to survive,” she said.

The flooding has also disrupted livelihoods, particularly for daily wage workers who depend on regular employment to survive.

Hari Mandal, a 28-year-old labourer from Ghogha village in Bhagalpur district, said he had been unable to work because of the disaster.

“If it will continue longer, I will go without food as there are no savings left to survive,” he said.