News Update

Floods have forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in India's Bihar state.

August 31, 2008--WESTPORT, CT — Save the Children is responding to the worst flood to hit the Bihar state of India in more than 50 years. Experts say the flooding has put more than 500,000 children at risk in the region.

Responding to what some have described as "India’s Katrina," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has declared a national emergency following severe flooding in 14 districts in Bihar.

Nearly 1.5 million people in more than 1,000 villages across 14 districts in Bihar are currently living on embankments and roads, and more than 225,000 houses have been damaged and 57,000 people evacuated.

Our Response

Save the Children has doubled the number of staff in Bihar. A full rapid response team will be deployed to the Araria district bordering Nepal. They will be joined by a team of 3 doctors and auxiliary medical personnel, from a Mumbai-based foundation, and by more staff from Save the Children India and international Save the Children Alliance partners.

Save the Children already has begun emergency interventions in Araria working with 1,500 families--a total of 9,000 people, including 6,000 children. This emergency intervention is providing:

• Distribution of food and clean drinking water 
• Maintaining a rooster of children separated from their families, working towards tracking their families in different relief camps

Save the Children's immediate objective is to reach 10,000 families--a total of 60,000 people, including 40,000 children--with immediate relief, as new funding is obtained. Without rapid intervention, Save the Children staff in India fear that the disaster could worsen.

"In our assessment, the need is enormous," said Thomas Chandy, CEO for Save the Children in India. "We already have the systems in place to quickly source and deliver urgently needed relief supplies to children and their families. We are appealing to all concerned — especially Indians living here and across the globe – to help us go out and do it."

Children Remain Vulnerable

Children are the most vulnerable and susceptible to diseases and exposure, which are prevalent in disaster situations. Food shortages affect children’s nutritional levels and weaken them.  In Bihar the problem is exasperated as the state has the worst malnutrition, child mortality, maternal mortality and child trafficking indicators. Also, the levels of poverty, deprivation and social exclusion prevalent in the state are very high, as is the risk for separation and exploitation of children during the flood emergency.

Many districts, which lie in the exit path of the flood waters, will be affected by the flooding in the next few weeks. Hence, the urgent need for action and creation of alternate shelters.  Save the Children is currently providing food, water purification materials, tarpaulins for shelter and health care and seeks $2 million for these and other life-saving emergency interventions.