Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
Notice (8): Undefined variable: urlPrefix [APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8]latest-news-updates/india-monsoon-floods-displace-1m-and-submerge-villages-10017.html"/> LATEST NEWS UPDATES | India: Monsoon floods displace 1m and submerge villages | Im4change.org
Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

India: Monsoon floods displace 1m and submerge villages

-BBC

 

More than a million people have been displaced and at least 16 killed as floods in India's Orissa state submerged entire villages, officials say.

Heavy monsoon rains submerged about 2,600 villages across 19 districts.

Several rivers, including the Mahanadi, are overflowing and flood waters have severed a number of key road links.

In Pakistan, the UN has begun relief operations after weeks of rain affected millions in the south.

At least 199 people have been killed in the floods in Pakistan's Sindh province, officials say.

The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef, said up to 2.5 million children had also been affected there.

One official said children and families, many of them still recovering from last year's devastating floods, are in urgent need of help before the situation worsens.

Helicopter food drops

Officials in Orissa said at least 61,000 people had been evacuated to safety and relief and rescue operations had begun.

They said road links at several places in Puri, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Sambalpur, Boudh and Sonepur districts had been affected.

"A navy ship from Vishakhapatnam with a helicopter and relief material is set to join the operation," Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted Special Relief Commissioner PK Mohapatra as saying.

He said a second helicopter was on standby to drop food and other essentials. Nearly 1,400 boats were also being used for relief and rescue.

Some areas had been cut off due to breaches in river banks and embankments and helicopters were the only way to reach food and water to people stranded there, Mr Mohapatra said.

Orissa's Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took an aerial survey of the flooded areas.

"We are taking all measures to mitigate the sufferings of the people affected by flood," Mr Patnaik was quoted by television channel CNN-IBN as saying.

"After damage assessment we will also seek help from the central government," he said.

Many of those affected said they were still awaiting relief.

"There is no electricity, no cooking in our house for the last two days. No one has come to our rescue," the channel quoted Lata, a 62-year-old woman in Puri district, as saying.

The channel said she was staying with her grandchildren, refusing to vacate her home despite rising waters.

Officials said the situation was expected to get better soon as rains had stopped and the water level in Mahanadi and other rivers had begun to recede.