Heavy rainfall and floods affected the state of Assam and Bihar and displaced millions amidst Covid-19 pandemic.

In Assam, the heavy monsoon rains caused flooding in 27 districts and displaced 26, 37,513 people. According to the Assam Disaster Management Authority Report, around 47,772 people have taken refuge in 564 relief camps and centres as on July 25, 2020. A total of 1,16,939.69 hectares of crop area has been affected across 2370 villages. Morigaon and Dhemaji districts are the worst affected with 352 and 265 villages affected respectively. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has positioned 12 teams in Assam.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with the Indian Army have also been deployed for conducting rescue operations. Roads and embankments have been breached at several locations affecting the respective district’s communication with the rest of the state.

More than 6,36,311 people are affected in 10 Districts of Bihar due to the heavy rains in Nepal. Sitamarhi, East Champaran, Kisanganj, Gopalganj, Sheohar, Muzzafarpur, Darbhanga, West Champaran, Khagaria & Supaul are the worst affected districts inundating 55 blocks and 282 panchayats as per the daily flood report of Bihar dated 22nd July. Alert has also been raised in Siwan, Madhubani, Madhepur & Kathihar. Most of the rivers in the state are flowing above the danger mark.

The natural disaster has crippled the already suffering population of these states. It is difficult to maintain social distancing norms in the shelter and relief camps. The number of total Covid-19 confirmed cases has reached to 29,921 and 33,926 in Assam and Bihar respectively. It will have a challenging impact on providing relief to the affected communities.

Caritas India has activated its emergency response team and coordinated with the partner to plan the response in the affected areas. The team has carried out a rapid needs assessment in the affected areas to understand the community needs and gaps in response.

“Caritas India plans to reach out the most affected vulnerable population in Assam with WaSH, Shelter and Cash transfer. The Phase – 1 response is planned in Morigaon and Dhemaji expanding to the other districts based on the needs,” informed Fr. Paul Moonjely, Executive Director Caritas India. Caritas India is continuously coordinating with local partners, field staff, volunteers and State agencies. The CI Zonal Office in North East and State Office in Bihar have been participating in the weekly Inter-Agency Group Meeting and receiving situation reports.

The emergency support will include shelter support, safe hygiene and clean drinking water. The support will prevent the target group from contracting vector or water-borne diseases in the immediate aftermath of floods which is the reason for many deaths especially of malnourished children and anaemic women. Caritas India and partners plan to keep all the safety measure during the relief to ensure prevention against the COVID virus through risk communication, accessing masks and sanitizers.