USAID Grants $ 200,000 For Flood Relief In North-East India

October 7, 2002

NEW DELHI - In response to the extensive damage caused by flooding due to heavy rains this monsoon season in several parts of the North-East and Bihar, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided US $ 50,000 to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to help tide over the situation.

In addition to this grant, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance also provided US $ 100,000 toward the appeal of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) for immediate relief assistance to the flood-affected families and US $50,000 to the UN Development Program (UNDP) for better coordination of relief operation in the worst affected Bihar and Assam.

The extensive flooding has affected over 20 million people in the North-East. Millions of people were left homeless and living in makeshift shelters on river embankments, roadways or high ground. Exceptional damage was al so caused to crops, road communication and infrastructure.

IFRC will provide emergency relief assistance to approx. 30,000 displaced families living below the poverty line. They constitute the most vulnerable segments of the flood-affected population. They will be provided with shelters, food and non-food items, basic health care, cooking utensils, hygiene items and mosquito nets over a six-month period.

Funding to the UNDP in Bihar and Assam will be used for vulnerability mapping of affected areas, multi-sector rapid assessment, needs analysis, database development and validation, and web sites for information dissemination at state and district levels.

In the recent past, USAID has provided assistance after the Orissa cyclone, Gujarat earthquake, floods in West Bengal and Orissa, and drought in Rajasthan. USAID assistance is used for food, shelter, health care, water and sanitation immediately after a disaster. USAID is also helping with reconstruction efforts after the Gujarat earthquake.