After flood fury, the living fight diseases

- Aid workers warn of epidemic threat from stagnant water 
- 15 killed as two overcrowded rescue boats capsize  

SAHARSA: Hundreds of thousands of flood victims huddled into makeshift camps in Bihar face major disease outbreaks if help fails to reach them quickly, aid workers warned on Tuesday. They said several relief camps were already reporting cases of
diarrhoea and other crippling illnesses.

A large part of Bihar is under water, with 550,000 people displaced and a further 400,000 people still awaiting rescue, state officials said.

"After two to four days, because of the stagnant water, more people will get sick. There will be more illnesses," government health worker Jai Krishna Sah said at a crowded camp in Saharsa district, 150 km east of state capital Patna.

In many areas, the wells have been inundated with flood waters containing sewage, bodies and refuse.

"The important thing now is for there to be some camp management, where the people have access to latrines, clean drinking water and some basic health care," said European Commission humanitarian aid representative Malini Morzaria.

One flood survivor, Sunita Yadav, was carrying a bucket of muddy water that she said she was going to use to make porridge. "Sometimes I use this water to cook with or drink. What are we to do?"

The relief operation in Bihar, however, is proving slow going — and dangerous. Most people reaching safety are traumatised by the loss of their homes, crops or loved ones, and carry few or no possessions.

At least 15 people drowned overnight in two separate accidents involving overcrowded rescue boats taking part in the effort to ferry stranded villagers to safety, Bihar state disaster official Pratyay Amrit said.

The dead included many children who were washed away by the strong currents still gushing through Supaul and Madhepura districts, two of the worst-hit areas. "These were areas that rescue teams had been struggling to reach and evacuate people,"
Amrit said.

At least 100 people have been confirmed dead since the Kosi river overwhelmed decrepit flood defences in Nepal and shifted course two weeks ago.

The real toll is believed to be far higher as many people were simply washed away by strong currents.

Lieutenant-General HS Panag, the Indian army official coordinating relief work, said the floods were "the biggest national calamity in recent times".

Chief minister Nitish Kumar also suggested the humanitarian crisis was likely to be extremely serious for several weeks. "The possibility of water receding is minimum until next month," he told reporters.

The northern and northeastern states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam have also been badly hit by monsoon floods.