Bihar floods: Toll mounts to 61, over 31 lakh affected

With one fresh death reported from Gopalganj, the toll in Bihar floods today increased to 61 with many areas in 13 districts still under water in the state.
The floods have affected 31 lakh people across 13 districts and also widely damaged crops in different parts of the state.
The disaster management department said one fresh death has been reported from Gopalganj taking the toll to three in the district.
Other deaths have been reported from Purnea (24), Katihar (15), Supual (8), Kisanganj (5), Madhepura (4), Saharsa and Araria 1 each.
Fed by heavy rains in the Terai region of Nepal, river Ganga at Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district remained above the danger mark.

Other rivers, Ghaghra-Darauli and Gangpur-Siswan, were flowing above danger level in Siwan district, while the Adhwara group of rivers was above danger level in Darbhanga, Bagmati-Benibad in Muzaffarpur district and Mahananda in Purnea.

The 13 flood-affected districts of the state are Purnea, Kisanganj, Araria, Darbhanga, Madhepura, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Saharsa, Supual, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, East and West Champaran, where 69 blocks and 584 panchayats are affected by the floods.
Farm produce on 1.61 lakh hectares of land has been damaged so far as per a survey, the release said.
A total of 460 relief camps are functioning in the flood-hit areas, giving shelter to 3,78,257 people even as 175 medical teams are providing their services.

Arrangements have been made for food and other items with 6,698 quintal of flattened rice, 1,235.00 quintal jaggery, 9.46 lakh matchsticks, 3,540 candles, besides 92,71,46 litres of kerosene oil and adequate supply of polythene sheets and food packets among others, it said.
The National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force personnel have been deployed in the flood-affected areas, the release added.