Dinesh Kumar Mishra looks back at the history of floods in North Bihar and wonders what this year has in store

Had the Kosi river not breached its eastern embankment at Kusaha last year, 2008 would have gone down as a drought year in North Bihar. The rains were scanty and there was virtual drought after the breach occurred. That is why the Kosi hit only 3.3 million people across five districts, 35 blocks, 993 villages and an area of 368,000 hectares (ha) and 527 people were killed.

Among Bihar