2007 Bihar flood

The 2007 Bihar flood occurred in August

2007 in the east Indian state of Bihar. It
was described by the United Nations as
the worst flood in the living memory of
Bihar.[1] Although annual floods are
common in Bihar,[2] heavier than usual
rainfall during the monsoon season that
year led to increasing water levels. By 3
August, the estimated death toll was 41
people, and 48 schoolgirls were marooned
in a school in the Darbhanga district.[3] By
8 August, the flooding had impacted an
estimated 10 million people in Bihar.[4]
Army helicopters delivered food packets
to residents, and 180 relief camps were
established. By 10 August, aid workers in
Bihar reported a dramatic increase in
people with diarrhea[5] and by 11 August,
flood-related deaths were still occurring.[6]
The total number of deaths recorded in the
2007 Bihar floods was more than 1,300,
the highest death toll in the state since the
1987 Bihar floods, in which more than
2,500 deaths were reported.[7]
Incident 2007 Bihar flood
Meteorological
The states of Bihar history
and Uttar Pradesh Duration August
were the most 2007
affected due to their Overall effects
high population
Fatalities 1,287
density. Nearly two
Areas Bihar,
million people,
affected Uttar
spread over eleven Pradesh
districts in Bihar, and
were affected by the Nepal
floods. Many major
rivers, including the Ganges, Punpun,
Bagmati, Gandak, and Kosi, flowed above
the danger mark.

Rainfall in July exceeded the monthly

average over a 30-year period by a factor
of five, leading to more than 40% of the
state of Bihar being submerged. The town
of Darbhanga and its surrounding areas
were among the most severely affected
locations in the state, and roads leading to
other areas were rendered impassable by
the flood. Many residents were forced to
seek refuge on higher ground, while others
were marooned and unable to access
assistance.[8]
Affected areas

The flood affected 19 districts of the

state. Some of the worst affected districts
were Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Saharsa, East
Champaran, Supaul, Darbhanga, Patna,
Bhagalpur, West Champaran, Katihar,
Madhubani, Samastipur, Sheohar, Nalanda,
Khagaria, Gopalganj, Madhepura, Araria,
and Begusarai.[9]

Impact

At least 4,822 villages and 10,000,000

hectares of farm land were affected.
About 29,000 houses were destroyed and
44,000 houses were damaged by the
floods. Thousands of people were shifted
to places of safety, including relief
camps.[9]

Response

The United Nations described the flood as

the worst to occur in the living memory of
Bihar.[10]
Relief work

Assistance implemented

Grain (38,86,896 Qtls) distributed to

affected families was around 50 lakhs. For
emergency expenses (Rs 20/- per adult
and Rs 15/- per child) that a person is
entitled for, GoB had, till August 2008, paid
Rs. 84.05 Crores against a demand of Rs.
1105 Crores made to the center. This was
just about 8 per cent of the requirement.[11]
See also

2004 Bihar flood

2008 Bihar flood
2008 Indian floods
Koshi river
Floods in Bihar

References

1. "Floods: Helpless Bihar seeks PM's help" (h

ttp://www.rediff.com/news/2007/aug/06bi
har.htm) .
2. A CASE STUDY INTO THE BAGMATI FLOOD
FORECASTING IN NORTH BIHAR,
https://swat.tamu.edu/media/114999/f2_1
_sharan.pdf
3. "North India inundated" (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20080205020930/http://www.hi
ndustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.as
px?id=350136a1-29a2-44bb-a354-ed2dda7
7a713&&Headline=North+India+inundate
d) . Hindustan Times. 3 August 2007.
Archived from the original (http://www.hind
ustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.asp
x?id=350136a1-29a2-44bb-a354-ed2dda77
a713&&Headline=North+India+inundated)
on 5 February 2008. Retrieved
23 November 2008. Last accessed 3
August 2007.
4. "Hunger, disease stalk children hit by South
Asia floods" (http://www.alertnet.org/thene
ws/newsdesk/DEL187242.htm) . Reuters.
8 August 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
5. "Bangladeshi hospital struggles to cope
with flood victims" (http://www.alertnet.or
g/thenews/newsdesk/DEL241115.htm) .
Reuters. 10 August 2007. Retrieved
15 August 2007.
6. "Flood victims clash with police in India, 30
hurt" (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/ne
wsdesk/DEL219103.htm) . Reuters. 11
August 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
7. "Bihar's scary new flood" (https://www.hind
ustantimes.com/interactives/bihar-floods-2
017/) .
8. Jason Motlagh, "Floods devastate northern
India state 20 million people affected and
4,000 die – officials blame onset of climate
change" (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/ar
ticle.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/05/MN8IRVS55.D
TL&hw=muzaffarpur&sn=001&sc=1000) ,
Chronicle Foreign Service, 5 October 2007,
"Flooding has submerged more than 40
percent of Bihar, and Relief Commissioner
R. Srivastava, citing government figures,
said rainfall in July was five times higher
than the monthly average over a 30-year
span."
 9. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/w
eb/20080821122548/http://act-intl.org/ne
ws/dt_nr_2007/CASA_SITREP_EastIndiaFlo
ods2007_090807.pdf) (PDF). Archived
from the original (http://act-intl.org/news/d
t_nr_2007/CASA_SITREP_EastIndiaFloods2
007_090807.pdf) (PDF) on 21 August
2008. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
10. Indian, The Logical (10 November 2015). "
[Watch/Read] Displaced in 2007, Waiting
for Compensation in 2015: A Bihar Story" (h
ttps://thelogicalindian.com/news/watchrea
d-displaced-in-2007-waiting-for-compensat
ion-in-2015-a-bihar-story/) .
thelogicalindian.com. Retrieved
17 September 2023.
 11. Mishra Dinesh Kumar, Bihar Floods of
2007– 1, EPW, 23 November 2007

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