Thousands left homeless as floods kill three

Torrential rain and floods swept the eastern Indian state of Bihar, claiming at least three lives and leaving thousands marooned today as the army struggled to carry out rescue and relief operations.

Four rain-swollen rivers overflowed their banks, washing away mud and thatch houses and inundating fields, forcing people to seek refuge on higher ground or move to schools and government buildings in safer places.

Three people were drowned when floodwaters swamped their homes in Dumaria village in West Champaran district, 375 miles east of the national capital New Delhi, an official said. However local newspapers reported that six people had died in the floods.

At least 500,000 people had been affected by the floods and crops worth 99 million rupees (£1.4 million) destroyed, said Girish Shankar, Bihar’s relief commissioner.

Army troops rescued hundreds of people marooned on the roofs of their houses or on treetops where they had climbed to escape the fury of the swirling waters of the Gandak, Ganga, Kosi and Kamala Balan rivers.

They were being ferried to government schools where camps have been set up for those left homeless by the floods. However, there were complaints that food and medical relief had not reached many inundated areas in the state.

East and West Champaran, Gopalganj, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Darbhanga and Saran were the worst affected districts of the state. Officials said the situation in the northern Gopalganj and Saran districts was grim, as water was being released from catchment areas and reservoirs in the Himalayan foothills in Nepal.

Heavy downpours in Nepal led the swollen Kamala Balan river to wash away at least 40 villages of Madhubani district, said Radha Singh, Bihar’s water resources commissioner.