Two boats with relief supplies. Rescue efforts have been difficult due to lack of boats and trained rescue teams.
Credits: Caritas India
Caritas plans to feed 270,000 people forced from their homes in India after monsoon rains caused a river bank to burst.
Huge swaths of northeast Indian state of Bihar are submerged, leaving millions in desperate need of food, shelter, clean water, and rescue for some still in the danger zone.
Caritas is using its years of expertise and local knowledge to make sure the survivors are well looked after.
Caritas is appealing for US $5,600,000 to help survivors with food for a month, temporary shelter kits, and medical supplies for 300 clinics.
The key challanges are:
- Flood waters are on the rise. The river is making its own course and expanding the affected areas. With possible downpour in the coming days, situation may grow even worse.
- Rescue efforts are difficult due to lack of boats and trained rescue teams.
- While relief camps have been set up to provide shelter, they lack health services, safe drinking waters, sanitation facilities, security for children, pregnant mothers and adolescent girls
- In the camps, a lot of cases of diarrhoea have been reported.
- There is need support the families with food and shelter
- Health facilities are also lacking in the areas as the health facilities are very limited in the villages.
- There is also urgent need to look in to the hygiene conditions.
- The communities are traumatized not only physically but emotionally, and the pain is growing worse.
Caritas India is one of the countries most well respected aid agencies and has been providing disaster relief since 1962. Read stories of our beneficiaries on our blog.
Caritas members will be working through their local staff and one of our members from the US, Catholic Relief Services (CRS).