Bihar flood toll goes up to 19, over 63.60 lakh affected in 16 districts
PATNA: Flood waters rampaged through 16 districts of Bihar on Tuesday, claiming six more lives and affecting over 63.60 lakh people, officials said.
The death toll from the deluge has gone up to 19, a state disaster management department bulletin said.
Nearly seven lakh more people fell victim to the flood fury in the last 24 hours, with rain-fed rivers originating in Nepal, inundating vast swathes.
Large parts of Saharsa and Madhepura districts, hitherto unaffected, were submerged.
Of the six fresh deaths, four occurred in Muzaffarpur district and two in Siwan.
Out of the total flood-related deaths, Darbhanga accounts for the maximum seven, while the rest was reported from Muzaffarpur (6), West Champaran (4) and Siwan (2), the bulletin said.
The 16 flood-hit districts are- Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Supaul, Kishanganj, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, West Champaran, East Champaran, Khagaria, Saran, Samastipur, Siwan, Madhubani, Madhepura and Saharsa.
Altogether 20 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 13 of SDRF are involved in relief and rescue operations.
Over 4.40 lakh people have been evacuated to safety, the bulletin said.
Nearly 18,000 people are staying in 17 relief camps, while about 9.52 lakh people were being provided food at 1365 community kitchens.