More than two weeks into some of the worst monsoonal flooding to have hit South Asia in a long time, Bangladesh, India and Nepal are still reeling from flash flooding that has affected around 30 million people.
Floods have affected mostly women and children. India, the largest country affected, alone has almost 20 million people impacted by the flooding in Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
UNICEF is transporting medical teams by land, boat, and is immunising children against measles. They are also concerned about delivering clean water to the many cut off by floods due to the sheer magnitude of people affected. In Bihar, it believes that 2 million people displaced from their homes by flooding, including some 300,000 children.
Uttar Pradesh has also hit hard, with roughly 2,634 villages experiencing flooding, including 1,340 completely deserted. Covered areas of Assam still have stagnant water, putting populations at risk of diarrhoea and other water borne diseases. Supplies pre-positioned following the 2004 floods will use to address water and sanitation needs.
Food, potable water and temporary shelter are the major requirements. There are increasing reports of outbreaks of water-borne diseases, viral fever and skin infections.
UNICEF has delivered oral dehydration salts, tarpaulins, buckets, blankets, hygiene kits and water purification supplies that can clean water for some 60,000 over two weeks in the country’s flood-and landslide-affected areas.
International development agency Oxfam called for a radical rethink in the way South Asian governments implement flood defence and response policy.
In a report, which released today, called "Sink or Swim: Why Disaster Risk Reduction is central to surviving floods in South Asia," Oxfam says that some flood defences, such as the construction of river embankments, can make matters worse.
In Nepal, culverts and embankments have obstructed the flow of waters causing major floods and in Bangladesh; an estimated 75 embankments breached in one month alone during the current floods.
“This year’s flood is an alarm call for South Asia’s governments. Current flood policies are not working and in some cases are worsening the problem.” said Ashvin Dayal, Oxfam’s head for South Asia.
For South Asian governments they included the suggestions of building the ability to prepare for floods of communities’, including village-level early warning systems, first aid and local contingency planning and more investments in local flood-proof infrastructure: such as flood shelters, raised homesteads, grain banks, raised tube wells.
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