AUGUST 18,2008. In the wee hours of the day, the river Kosi breaches the embankments in Kusaha, Nepal, leaving in its wake an awesome trail of death and destruction downstream in Bihar's northern plains. Panic-stricken, people run helter skelter ooking for high ground, railway tracks, trees, whatever, to escape the swirling waters. At last count, on August 28, the death toll had touched 55.

NEW DELHI

With water level of the rampaging Kosi river receding after wreaking havoc in five northeast districts of Bihar, the overall flood situation in the state improved even as rescue and evacuation operations were stopped.

Bihar officials said as the flood waters had started to recede, many people sheltered in government relief centres and adjoining dis tricts started returning to their villages despite persuasion by the local authorities to stay for some more time.

Anubhuti Vishnoi

New Delhi, September 7: Receding floodwaters have prompted the authorities to assess the extent of damage done by the Kosi and the figures trickling in suggests it would be long before Bihar

This is a region where, if you have survived the night, you are not likely to get your morning cup of tea because all milk-producing livestock is dead

SAHARSA DISTRICT, India: Indian authorities rushed doctors and medical equipment to flood-devastated northern India on Monday to ward off outbreaks of disease among the hundreds of thousands of victim

New Delhi,Sept. 1: As millions remain marooned, a high-level team headed by Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar will visit Bihar on Tuesday to oversee rescue and relief operations in the flood-affected areas.

Increasing the number of its flood relief columns from 21 to 37 in Madhepura, Araria and Supaul districts, the Army has provided six more helicopters to speed up the relief measures.

While 320 boats are already deployed in the flood-hit areas, 197 more are being organised by the Army, Central paramilitary forces and various state governments.

Food riots as Indian floods destroy 250,000 homes

PATNA, India (Reuters) - Food riots erupted on Wednesday in eastern India, where more than 2 million people have been forced from their homes and about 250,000 houses destroyed in what officials say are the worst floods in 50 years.

One person was killed in Madhepura district when angry villagers fought among themselves over limited supplies of food and medicines at overcrowded relief centres.

Ashok K Mishra BIHAR

BIHAR'S sorrow, the Kosi, has changed its course near Kusaha village in Nepal for the first time in the last 50 years after breaching the East Kosi afflux embankment threatening millions of lives. Over 12 lakh people are trapped between the old and the new streams of the river leading to plans for unprecendented evacuation effort in the northern part of the state.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar has appealed to the people of the twin districts of Madhepura and Supaul, that may be wiped off the map, to abandon houses and find shelter in relief camps.