Flooding displaces millions in Asia

People in Bihar, northern India, holding their belongings as they wait to be rescued PHOTO: REUTERS/ Rupak De Chowdhuri courtesy www.alertnet.org

3 September 2008: Plan has launched an appeal to help the 3,300,000 people who have been forced from their homes by floods in northern India, Nepal and Pakistan.

Please make a donation via Plan's fundraising organisations to help those affected:

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Villages devastated

Heavy rains over the last weeks have caused the Kosi and Sutlej rivers to break their banks, submerging millions of acres of farm land and devastating villages.
 
In India, more than 225,000 homes have been destroyed. Large areas remain isolated and the government is using helicopters and boats to provide emergency supplies and evacuate children and their families.

However, essential medicine, food, and drinking water have only reached a few accessible relief camps and other communities.

As the number of displaced people continues to grow, there is a danger of overcrowding in relief camps and the spread of disease.

Plan action

Plan programme units near the flooded Kosi river in and around Bihar, India

Plan is working to help the immediate as well as long term needs of children and their families. Our efforts will concentrate on the protection of children and the provision of safe drinking water and sanitation.

In Pakistan, flooding has occurred in our Vehari programme area and sponsored children and their families are believed to be affected.

Plan was actively involved in relief efforts to help communities following last year's floods in northern India. View video of our work and the challenges communities face on Plan's YouTube channel.