Floods ravage 1,500 villages in UP and Bihar, death toll 28

17,000 villagers have been rescued so far

Over 1,500 villages in nine districts of Uttar Pradesh have been severely affected by floods. So far, the death toll has been pegged at 28, and thousands are said to be homeless.

The water level in the River Rapti has touched 105.47 meters, which is 0.85 meters above the danger mark.

The worst affected district is Bahraich near the Indo-Nepal border. Army helicopters are dropping food packets in affected villages.

Shravasti, Balrampur, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Gonda, Barabanki, Faizabad and Azamgarh are the other districts in the state that have been badly affected by the floods. Hundreds of marooned villages are without power to ensure that no one is electrocuted.

At least six lakh hectares of land have been affected and over 600 houses have been washed away. So far, 17,000 villagers have been rescued and efforts are on to reach remote areas surrounded by flood waters.

The state government has released Rs 51 crore as relief for the flash flood-hit districts.

In Bihar, nearly four lakh people have been affected by the floods in the districts of Saharsa, Darbhanga, West Champaran and Nalanda.

The state chief secretary and other senior officials have reportedly undertaken an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas to assess the level of damage and what needs to be done to bring the situation under control.

Four National Disaster Response Force teams have been rushed to Bihar from Kolkata to assist the eight NDRF teams that are already deployed in the state.