South Asia floods: worse to come?

World Vision New Zealand is contributing $75,000 to Bangladesh and $50,000 to India, to alleviate the increasingly desperate plight of South Asian countries affected by flooding.

Over 28 million people have been affected by the floods in South Asia in recent weeks, with around 10 million people displaced or left homeless.

And with the monsoon season in India and Bangladesh not due to end until early September, World Vision's locally based staff in the region fear worse may be yet to come.

They say that while the flood situation in India is not as bad right now as it was a week back, it is still grave.

Though the water is currently receding, the challenges for aid agencies continue. Damaged roads mean large trucks can't enter major towns, making relief work more challenging. World Vision is using smaller vehicles to transport relief materials, while boats are being used to access remote villages.

Dr. Jayakumar Christian, World Vision India National Director, says: "The last two weeks have seen some of the worst flooding in living memory."

In Uttar Pradesh, one of the worst hit Indian states, nine year-old Pooja and her family were fortunate enough to get to the main road as soon as water started entering their houses. They had to wade through chest-high water, and have since been living in a cart.

Now, children like Pooja are fighting fever, cold, mosquitoes and sometime, even snakes.

"I was not well. But now I am okay. But my sister has a fever and headache," says Pooja.

"I don't like to live here (in the cart). Mosquitoes bite in the night. There are snakes in this area. I am scared of them," says Pooja.

Children like Pooja are extremely vulnerable to water-borne diseases now, as they may drink water from contaminated wells or play in the stagnant water left by the floods. This poses the threat of malaria, skin infections, diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases.

Pooja's family members are marginal farmers and have lost their crops. It is not only a financial loss for the family but also an issue of food security.

"We keep the paddy and wheat for our consumption and sell sugarcane. Now we have to do daily wage labour work to earn and feed our children," says Pooja's mother Ram Rani.

In the flood-affected Indian state of Bihar, World Vision is providing seven-day relief packs to 5000 families, which include rice, flour, salt and sugar, as well as special nutritional food for malnourished children.

World Vision is conducting assessments and providing immediate aid in areas that can be accessed by boat and the government has set up medical camps in an attempt to stop diseases from spreading.

In Nepal, the floods have killed 84 people in the past fortnight and displaced 14,705 families – with an average of five people per family that is around 73,525 people.

While the floods are now receding in some parts of Nepal, revealing the full extent of the damage, World Vision is warning that the continuing monsoon season in India and Bangladesh brings the possibility of more flooding, further displacements of already vulnerable families and the threat of disease.

Across the three countries World Vision is already beginning to plan for future rehabilitation programmes as livelihoods and crops have been badly damaged by the heavy floodwaters.

Programmes will also include disaster preparedness planning to reduce the risk of lives, livestock and livelihoods in the event of future disasters.

ENDS

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