Zakat Foundation of India

 
ZFI CONTINUES RELIEF WORK FOR VICTIMS OF 2008 BIHAR FLOODS CALAMITY

January 31, 2009 - Bihar (India): On August 18, 2008 the Koshi embankment-dam breached near the Indo-Nepal border causing the worst flood in India in half a century.

Over 3000 people were killed and 2.3 million people have been affected by the flood waters in Northern Bihar – India’s poorest state.

As reported by the New York Times (link) on August 28, 2008 India's Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh declared the floods as a “national calamity.”

The Indian Army and NGOs from across the country mobilized to help the people trapped in the flood waters.

The worst affected districts included Sapaul, Madhepura, Bhagalpur, Araria and West Champaran.

Per Reuters News Agency (link), Supaul district was the worst-hit by floods. Flood waters swamped 1,000 square kilometres (247,000 acres) of farmlands, destroying wheat and paddy crops.

Villagers waiting for supplies had to eat raw rice and flour mixed with polluted water in Bihar, risking a public health crisis.

A ZFI team in now in Supaul providing these flood victims food items (Photos 2 and 3).

Zakat Foundation of India continues to be actively involved on site in Northern Bihar providing food aid, such as rice, eggs, bananas, dates as well as blankets to hundreds of people still homeless owing to this national calamity.

DONATE FOR BIHAR RELIEF
Donate to ZFI’s Bihar relief work, please click below:

PHOTOS OF ZFI RELIEF ACTIVITIES
Pasted below are the latest photographs taken in January 2009 of our ongoing relief work in Northern Bihar.

DOCUMENTARY
For those seeking more information on the 2008 Bihar flood calamity, an insightful documentary on the lives of victims like Mohommad Jamaluddin Ansari (a rice farmer who lost his crop), Mohommad Shasheradan (a landowner who is now homeless), and Feroz Khan (whose family has suffered with yearly floods) can be viewed by clicking here (Part 1 >, Part 2 >).