Patna, July 15 (PTI): The death toll in the Bihar floods mounted to 24 on Monday, with 25.66 lakh people reeling from the deluge in 12 districts of the state following incessant rains in neighbouring country Nepal, officials said.
Five more children drowned in two separate incidents in East Champaran district, but a senior official of the state disaster management department said they were not counted among the flood casualties.
With five rivers in spate, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar undertook his second aerial survey of the flood-hit areas during the day.
Of the 24 deaths reported till 6 pm on Monday, Sitamarhi accounted for 10 deaths, while nine were reported from Araria, four from Kishanganj and one from Sheohar, a Disaster Management Department report said.
Four deaths were reported till Sunday evening from Araria (2), Sheohar (1) and Kishanganj (1).
According to the Water Resources Department daily bulletin, five rivers — Baghmati, Kamla Balan, Lalbakeya, Adhwara and Mahananda — are flowing above danger level at various places in the state.
Baghmati river is flowing above danger mark at five places including Dheng, Sonakhan, Dubbadhar in Sitamarhi while at one place at Benibad in Muzaffarpur district, it said.
A Patna Meteorological Centre official said it has issued a warning of heavy rainfall in Supaul, Araria, Kishangaj, Purnea and Katihar in next 24 hours.
As many as 25,66,100 people have been affected by flood waters in 77 blocks of 12 districts — Sheohar, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, Madhubani, Araria, Kishanganj, Supaul, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Saharsa, Katihar and Purnea — the report said.
Saharsa, Katihar and Purnea districts are the latest addition to the list of the districts marooned.
119 NDRF teams deployed for rescue, relief operations in flood-hit areas
As many as 119 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in flood-hit areas of the country, including Assam and Bihar, and a 24X7 control room has been set up in Delhi to closely monitor the situation in these regions.
As part of proactive measures, 119 teams of the NDRF have been deployed in various parts of the country keeping in view the disaster vulnerability and to keep extra vigil at locations where heavy rainfalls cause flood, an official statement said.
All NDRF teams, each comprising around 45 personnel, are equipped with boats, divers and other flood rescue-related equipment, and will be making the best use of their professionalism and technology in the discharge of their mandate, it said.
In Assam, 14 NDRF teams have been deployed in flood-affected districts of Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Biswanath Chariali, Cachar, Dhemaji, Golaghat, Guwahati, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Morigaon, Sivasagar and Tinsukia, where torrential rains and overflowing rivers and water bodies have worsened the flood situation, the statement said.
The NDRF teams are continuously engaged in assisting the local administration in rescue and relief work, it added.
The personnel were operational in the low-lying areas of districts Bishwanath, Golaghat, Morigaon and Tinsukia. The NDRF evacuated 460 people and shifted them to safer places. So far, NDRF teams have evacuated more than 3,000 people in Assam, the release said.
In Bihar, heavy rainfall in the past few days has caused flood-like situation in low-lying areas and increased the water level of various rivers in several parts of the state.
To deal with the severity of the situation, 19 NDRF teams have been deployed in Araria, Bettiah, Darbhanga, Didarganj, Gopalganj, Katihar, Madhubani, Motihari, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Supaul districts, the statement said.
NDRF personnel carried out rescue operations in Araria, Motihari, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi and Supaul districts. Besides, they are also assisting the state administration in distribution of relief materials, it added.
So far, NDRF teams have evacuated over 3,310 people to safer places in Bihar.
A 24X7 control room has been set up by in Delhi and it is closely monitoring the situation. The NDRF is also in touch with other agencies for further deployment, the statement said, adding the director general of the force is personally monitoring the situation.
