India's Bihar, Assam reeling under floods

A man carrying a bag wades in flood water caused by heavy rain and overflowing of river at Dhemaji district of India's northeastern state of Assam, on Aug. 28, 2021. The Indian states of Bihar and Assam are currently reeling under floods, which have affected population and damaged crops, officials said Saturday. (Str/Xinhua)

The Indian states of Bihar and Assam are currently reeling under floods, which have affected population and damaged crops, officials said Saturday.

In the eastern state of Bihar, floods have hit the state's 15 districts including the capital city Patna.

"Over 30 lakh (three million) people inhabiting 2104 villages spread over 15 districts are reeling under the impact of flood," an official at Bihar disaster management department said.

Several rivers are flowing above the danger mark and are maintaining rising trend, the official added.

According to officials at the Bihar disaster management department, so far 43 people have lost their lives in flood-related incidents.

The inundation has affected normal life in the affected districts and submerged the standing crops.

Authorities have pressed rescue teams belonging to disaster response forces and boats in the affected areas to carry out rescue work.

"People are being ferried to safer locations in boats, besides this, we have made arrangements for providing food to the affected people in the makeshift shelters," the official said. "We are also trying to make estimates of the damage to the standing crops because of the floods."

Meanwhile, floods in the northeastern state of Assam have hit 11 districts.

The state's main river, along with some other rivers, are flowing above the danger mark at several locations with a rising trend.

According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority, 243 villages in the state's 11 districts are reeling under floods.

"A population of 133,078 has been affected in the flood-hit areas and crop area of 7584.69 hectares has suffered the damage," data presented by flood reporting and information management system showed.

However, so far no deaths due to floods have been reported in the state.

Floods are an annual occurrence in Assam and Bihar during the monsoon season.