Severe inundation sweeping across India’s eastern state of Bihar has impacted nearly five million residents, authorities confirmed on Tuesday, while rescue and relief distributions were actively directed toward the most heavily stricken zones.

According to data released by the state water resources department, Bihar stands as one of the country's most vulnerable regions to high waters, with all seven major regional rivers surging above their established "danger level" on Tuesday following prolonged heavy downpours.

Highlighting ongoing government interventions, Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary stated in an official announcement, "Food, clean drinking water, medicines, and other essential facilities are being continuously provided to the needy families."

Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary further reported that direct financial assistance amounting to 7,000 rupees ($72) per household has already been electronically deposited to more than 827,000 impacted families across the state.

Estimates compiled by Bihar’s Disaster Management Department confirm that the expanding deluge has disrupted the lives of close to five million individuals.

Outlining the administrative agenda, Choudhary emphasized in a statement that the government's "priority is that every affected family gets flood relief and reconstruction work is done with a spirit of building back better."

The high-water crisis commenced earlier this month, with regional news outlets documenting 20 fatalities alongside extensive tracts of agricultural land being completely submerged, compounded by the fact that Bihar sits downstream from neighboring Nepal, which experienced fatal deluges last month.

Voicing the despair shared by many locals, 46-year-old Saran district resident Chandan Kumar Mahto remarked, "Flood is our fate, every year we face it. We are helpless... we are struggling for food, safe drinking water and milk for children."

The regional administration in Bihar—governed through a coalition alliance that includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party—noted that it has established 13 relief camps alongside operating upwards of 1,000 community kitchens and deploying nearly 1,800 watercraft within the disaster zones.

In response to the crisis, Prime Minister Modi has dispatched a central federal delegation to execute a comprehensive evaluation of the destruction, state officials reported.

Confronted with the rapidly rising currents, 42-year-old Lakhmania Devi from Vaishali district shared that she and her household were forced to seek refuge on their rooftop after floodwaters breached their living quarters.

"We live like nomads, without a kitchen to prepare food and drink dirty water to survive," she added.

Echoing similar economic distress, Hari Mandal, a 28-year-old laborer residing in Ghogha village within the Bhagalpur district, explained that the high water has halted his daily employment.

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

Source: AFP