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South Asia Floods Displace Millions, Spark Fears of Widespread Disease
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The Indian government and UNICEF have started to distribute hygiene kits, clean-water tablets, plastic sheeting and mosquito nets, Babille said. Helicopters have dropped food for 2 million people in eastern Uttar Pradesh, the Associated Press reported.
"There have been a lot of lessons learned from previous disasters including the tsunami and the flooding in Mumbai in 2005 to get things done right away," Babille said.
In Bihar, where it has rained for 20 days straight, hundreds of water pumps have been submerged in rural villages, forcing communities to search for clean water, officials said.
"This is the worst flooding I've seen in the last eight years, and there's a real fear that with flooding this size that illness can spread," said Manoj Srivastava, director of disaster management in Bihar. "Rarely have people seen this many days of incessant rainfall. There is a great effort underway to prevent disease."
Indian and UNICEF health workers will be dispatched to disinfect water, clear garbage and animal carcasses and spray insecticide to prevent mosquitoes from breeding, Srivastava said. Two Indian Air Force helicopters are being used for rescue and relief efforts.
In Bangladesh, thousands of families have fled their homes in search of higher ground. An estimated 41 of the country's 64 districts have been affected by the floods, aid workers said. Nearly 1,000 cases of diarrhea have been reported, and the United Nations has started distributing oral dehydration salts and water purification tablets.
In southern Nepal, flooding and landslides have displaced thousands in the countryside, and bridges and roads have been washed out. Many villages remain cut off by high water, according to officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Nepal Red Cross Society.
There have been hundreds of cases of fever, acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, waterborne diseases and snakebites in at least five districts. Thousands of farms have been destroyed at the peak of rice-planting season in the Terai region, the breadbasket of the country, the officials said.
