South Asia floods claim 200 lives, 10 million homeless
Saturday, August 4, 2007
MORE than 200 people have died in monsoon flooding in South Asia in the last 10 days while more than 10 million remained marooned in their villages or homeless yesterday, with many having no access to health care.
The threat of water-borne diseases is rising, with many villages cut off for days. Some people have been bitten by snakes flooded out of their pits, others crushed under the rubble of their houses, and many drowned by rising flood waters.
In India's impoverished eastern state of Bihar, a number of pregnant women in flooded areas gave birth to stillborn babies, as flooding led to the collapse of the rural medical infrastructure in many areas.
"There is little one can do as nearly half of the 315 health centres in remote districts have been swamped," said Baidyanath Singh, a senior health official.
Residents said they were facing a shortage of medicines, as well as food, and were turning to quacks in Bihar, where around 8 million are affected, many of them homeless.
In India's northeastern state of Assam, where nearly 3 million are displaced or marooned officials were warning of outbreaks of diarrhoea and malaria.Reuters
The threat of water-borne diseases is rising, with many villages cut off for days. Some people have been bitten by snakes flooded out of their pits, others crushed under the rubble of their houses, and many drowned by rising flood waters.
In India's impoverished eastern state of Bihar, a number of pregnant women in flooded areas gave birth to stillborn babies, as flooding led to the collapse of the rural medical infrastructure in many areas.
"There is little one can do as nearly half of the 315 health centres in remote districts have been swamped," said Baidyanath Singh, a senior health official.
Residents said they were facing a shortage of medicines, as well as food, and were turning to quacks in Bihar, where around 8 million are affected, many of them homeless.
In India's northeastern state of Assam, where nearly 3 million are displaced or marooned officials were warning of outbreaks of diarrhoea and malaria.Reuters
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