Flooding in South Asia strands millions

A villager rows a boat past huts submerged in flood waters in Assam, India Photo: Reuters/Stringer India, courtesy of www.alertnet.org

7 August 2007: Plan has launched an urgent appeal to help relieve the suffering of millions of children left isolated and homeless by floods in South Asia.

More than 2,367 people are believed to have died in the flooding which has swept across Nepal, India and Bangladesh. Survivors now face the serious threat of hunger and disease with a real risk of epidemics spreading unchecked across flooded areas.

Hospitals have already reported a sharp increase in cases of cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea while hundreds of people have been bitten by snakes forced out of their normal habitat.

Emergency assistance

Plan International Country Director in India, Roland Angerer, said: “Our immediate concern is to get fresh water, food and medicines to the children of the region. Our next priority will be to get them back into school as quickly as possible and provide them with any psychosocial support they require.

“This will not only get them back into some sense of normalcy, but let their families concentrate on rebuilding their homes and their shattered lives.”

More than 13,000,000 Indians are affected, mostly in the northern states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. In Assam, up to 3,000,000 people have taken refuge in emergency camps.

Half of Bangladesh, including the capital Dhaka, has been submerged, while 33 of Nepal’s 75 districts are affected. In total, more than 20,000,000 people have been displaced.

Help us assist those affected

Plan staff have already been aiding local relief efforts by distributing food and medicines and working to prevent the spread of disease. On-going assessments of damage caused by the floods will ensure Plan is ready to help people as soon as the waters recede.

Please support our emergency work. Donate to our appeal via your local Plan website:

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