Floods in Orissa wreck havoc and an earthquake in Sikkim leads to a trail of destruction - A comprehensive compilation of recent floods and disaster-related news articles

Villagers tackling the flood waters in Godisaguda village in Puri district in Orissa. Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty (The Hindu)A look at the news in the month of September 2011, indicates that the month has experienced a range of events such as heavy floods in different parts of the country with Orissa being the worst affected state, a major earthquake in the North East with Sikkim being the most affected, reports of flash floods and landslides in various parts of the country as well as  reports of heavy rainfall in different parts of the country with indications that the rainfall may further subside in the coming week.

Severe floods in Orissa, Bihar and North East

Orissa

The state most affected by floods has been Orissa, which has experienced the worst floods since the last 30 years. Heavy rains leading to release of water from the dams and flooding of major rivers such as the Subarnarekha, Baitarani, Brahmani, Budhabalang, Mahanadi have led to submergence of a large number of villages, loss of lives and destruction, making it extremely difficult for relief workers to reach the marooned villages. Floods sparked by two spells of heavy monsoon rains, has disrupted lives of more than two million people after submerging over 3,000 villages in the state.Villagers wade through flood waters at Panikoili village of Jajpur district in Orissa - PTI (Deccan Chronicle)

The Status Report on the Orissa State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) site highlights the current impact of the floods in the different districts of Orissa.

The initial news highlights the first spell of floods in the state and the release of water from the Hirakud dam affecting 30 districts in the state followed by attempts at providing relief by the government.

This is followed by news on the second fresh round of floods in the northern parts of the state in the coming week and flooding of all the major rivers leading to submergence, marooning of a large number of villages, death and destruction followed by news on efforts being gradually made to provide relief to the areas affected with a slight reduction in intensity of flooding.

Bihar

AP Villagers wade through flood waters at Kasimpurchak near Danapur Diara in Patna, Bihar (AP - The Hindu)The two other states extensively being affected by floods are Bihar, where the flooding of major rivers has led to marooning of villages with people fleeing their homes in search of shelter followed by news that the situation shows some hopes of gradually easing though the rivers still have not completely receded.

North East

Similarly, news from the north east also indicates extensive flooding of Brahmaputra and Simen rivers followed by fresh floods due to the Gai and Jiadhol rivers leading to extensive displacement of families and efforts made at rescue of the people.

 

Flood alerts sounded in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Kashmir, Gujarat and Punjab, Uttar Pradesh

There have also been reports of increase in the risk of floods in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Kashmir, Gujarat, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh

West Bengal and Jharkhand

Punjab and Kashmir

Gujarat

 

Flash-floods in Kashmir and Jharkhand

 

Earthquake followed by heavy rains, flash-floods and landslides in Sikkim

Landslides have presented rescue workers in Sikkim with huge practical and logistical problems (BBC News)This month has also witnessed a 6.9 richter scale earthquake that hit the states of West Bengal and the North East, with Sikkim being the worst affected. The earthquake has left behind a trail of death and destruction and has been followed by heavy rains and landslides making the rescue operations extremely difficult.

 

Heavy rainfall in the north, south, eastern and western states of the country now showing signs of receding

The country has experienced heavy rainfall during the four months of the monsoon this year with one percent above normal in the week upto Sept. 14, weakening from 39 percent above average in the previous week with indications that the four-month rainy season has begun to retreat after a normal spell.

North India (Uttar Pradesh, Kashmir, Delhi)

There have been reports of heavy rainfall in different parts of the country such as Uttar Pradesh, Kashmir, Delhi in the North, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the South, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand in the east, Saurashtra, Rajasthan and Maharashtra in the West and the North East.

South India (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala)

Western India (Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Maharashtra)

North East

East India (Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand)

 

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