A week after rising floodwaters cut off hundreds of villages in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, some 1 million people are still marooned on rooftops and trees. Swirling currents from overflowing rivers have prevented relief workers from reaching many remote villages where reports of disease have raised alarm.
Our Activities
Project Reports
Food Distribution
Cloth Distribution
Photo Gallery
How You Can Help
How to Donate
Link to FoodRelief.org
Clothes and Toys
Land for Relief Center
News
Project Reports
General News
About Us
Bhaktivedanta Ashram
Contact Us
Photo Gallery
View Photos
General News
Spirit soars above the floods
Who says that the flood waters have tamed the spirit of Abhinav Sahu, his two friends and children elsewhere? When we walked down the narrow road leading to Khanditar village in Rasulpur block of Cuttack district in Orissa on July 24, many warned us to be careful: “The flood waters can sweep you off your feet” we were told. They had a point.
The Orissa Flood in Pictures (July, 2001)
A collection of pictures documenting the 2001 floods in Orissa.
Hunger in a land of plenty
Even as a controversy rages over whether there were starvation deaths, what is clear is that the plight of the people of Kashipur in Orissa has worsened over the years. Prafulla Das reports.
KASHIPUR BLOCK of Orissa’s Rayagada district is a drive of nearly 500 km from Bhubaneswar across a region of idyllic green and brimming water bodies. But the picture-postcard surroundings hide a harsh reality. Hunger.
5,000,000 people affected in Orissa floods
Orissa was on the verge of another spell of devastating floods with more water being released from the Hirakud reservoir on the Mahanadi, and heavy rains lashing the catchment areas of the river on Thursday.
“We are apprehending it to be the worst flood since Independence,” the State Revenue Minister, Mr. Biswabhushan Harichandan, said. “The situation will remain critical for the next 36 hours.”
100 Villages washed away in Orissa
The flood situation in Orissa continues to remain grim with all rivers in the Mahanadi system flowing above danger level. An estimated five million people have been affected by the floods while another one million are still marooned in the districts of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Jajpur, Nayagarh and Puri.
Floods Swallow 9,000 Villages in Orissa
Torrential rain in the upper catchment area of Mahanadi and the surging water from Hirakud reservoir have inundated more than 9,000 villages in Orissa.
The surge has killed 38 people and affected more than 60 lakh in many coastal areas and interior districts. A third round of more devastating floods is expected tonight.
Flood Situation Worsening
After the supercyclone in 1999 and a severe drought in 2000, Orissa is now facing nature’s wrath again in the form of heavy floods in five of its coastal districts and many interior pockets.
The flood situation is likely to worsen further as more than 14 lakh cusecs of water was being discharged at the Munduli gauge station on the Mahanadi, upstream of Cuttack, late this evening.
After cyclone and drought, now flood sweeps Orissa
The current monsoon has plunged Orissa into a fresh crisis. During the first half of July, the state has already received more than 30% of the annual rainfall, the normal quota for the whole of monsoon. As many as 7032 villages in 1254 Gram Panchayats in 118 blocks in 17 districts with 3.54 million people have been cut off or submerged in flood waters. The damage caused to agriculture is stupendous. About 360 thousand hectares of paddy crop are rotting under water. The total loss, as per government’s early estimates amounts to about 17.13 Crore rupees.
From floods to famine in Orissa
Press release from Christian Aid
The Indian state of Orissa, which, a year ago was recovering from a cyclone and massive flooding, is now in the midst of the worse drought for ten years, says Christian Aid.