The >fast changing flood scenario in different parts of the country has triggered alarm, with the National Disaster Response Force mobilising 53 rescue and relief teams in ten States while keeping the reserve force on a standby.
The first wave of furious floods in the Brahmaputra and its tributaries along Central and Upper Assam has claimed at least four lives and affected a population of nearly 4 lakh across 14 districts, submerging vast tracts of about 800 villages.
About 70 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park, almost half of the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, most of Dudhwa National Park and Pabitora wildlife sanctuary are badly hit by floods.
“In view of the prevailing flood threat, NDRF has deployed 53 teams in Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh to deal with the impending emergencies. Over 1,600 people were rescued and moved to safer areas in the flood-hit districts of Bihar in the past 24 hours. The NDRF teams also distributed relief materials to the affected people and organised a medical camp,” said an NDRF official. The river Bagmati in Muzaffarpur has also breached the danger level.
In the wake of an unprecedented increase in the water level of the Ganga tributaries in Uttar Pradesh, relief work has been undertaken on a war footing. The raging Rapti and the overflowing Ghagra in the Balrampur and Barabanki districts, respectively, has made the situation worse. According to the Central Water Commission, there are strong indications of possible floods in the Ramganga tributary as well in Moradabad. “Rapti has crossed the maximum level in Balrampur and is still rising, while the Sarada at Paliakalan and Ghagra at Ayodhya were flowing above the danger mark (on Sunday night). Teams on Sunday conducted operations, rescuing over 330 marooned people,” said the official, adding that the incessant rain coupled with cloud burst in Uttarakhand has led the agency to mobilise boats in Almora, Pouri (Srinagar), Sonprayag, Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Hardwar.
