Flood Situation Worsens In Bihar; 12 Killed, 50,000 Evacauted In 24 hours
The people of Bihar are reeling under the flood. NDRF personnel have been deployed in the state to help the citizens.
By Dev Raj
Published : October 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM IST
Patna: The latest deluge in Bihar worsened as floodwaters spread to fresh areas on Saturday. At least 12 people have lost their lives so far in flood-related incidents, while one person died when a dry ration packet dropped by an air force helicopter fell on his head.
"There have been 12 drowning deaths in flood-related incidents in the affected areas," a senior disaster management department (DMD) officer told ETV Bharat.
Around 50,000 people were evacuated from various areas of Amnour block in Saran district since Friday in an intensive rescue operation in which 12 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), eight of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and other administrative personnel participated. The total number of evacuated population stands at over 92,000 at present.
Amnour was severely hit following a massive breach in the main Saran embankment along the Gandak. Several pucca houses and many kuchcha (non-concrete) houses were washed away in the high-speed current of water of the flooded river gushing in from the breach to the residential areas.
The flood-affected population has risen to around 6 lakh spread across 30 blocks in West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Saran, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur districts in the present round of deluge. The floods have disrupted road connectivity in the affected areas.
The extremely heavy rains in north Bihar districts and Nepal in the last week of September due to the deep depression that originated from the Bay of Bengal led to an excessive flow of water in the Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati and other rivers.
According to the water resources department (WRD) there were seven major breaches in the Gandak embankment that led to the present round of devastating floods. Its officials pointed out that there were several minor breaches as well in the districts along the river.
Meanwhile, rescue and relief operations, courtesy the DMD, were going on full steam in the flood-hit areas.
"Seeing the emergency situation, the state government requested the air force’s help to drop dry ration packets among the flood-affected people. Its helicopters have been dropping them for the past three days. The chopper sorties will stop from today but boats will continue distributing dry ration. We have distributed around 74,000 dry ration packets till now,” DMD joint secretary Nadeemul Ghaffar Siddiqui told ETV Bharat on Saturday.
“We are also running 232 community kitchens in the ongoing round of floods and have served over 6.28 lakh thalis (food plates) till now. Around 75,000 polythene sheets and 270 quintals of fodder for cattle have also been distributed among the affected population,” Nadeemul added.
Though the water level of the Gandak has decreased over the past couple of days, it was still flowing 1.10 metres above the danger level at Dumariaghat in Gopalganj district and 29 centimetres above the danger level at Rewaghat in Muzaffarpur district.
The discharge from the Valmikinagar barrage on the Gandak along the Indo-Nepal border in West Champaran district has declined from its annual peak of 5.44 lakh cusec attained on September 28 to 71,300 cusec on Saturday morning, indicating a falling trend. One cusec or cubic foot per second is around 28.32 litres per second.
However, the Bihar government was keeping its fingers crossed due to the Ganga flowing above the danger level all along the Patna district. The water from the flooded Gandak and other rivers drain into the Ganga, which carries it toward the Bay of Bengal.
"The floodwaters are still spreading and more areas could be inundated before draining out in the Gandak ahead, and eventually into the Ganga river. We expect around 23,000 hectares to be additionally impacted.
Man killed after being hit by a flood-relief packet dropped from a helicopter
A 58-year-old man identified as one Anil Kumar Singh aka Appu Singh died after allegedly being hit by a flood relief material packet dropped by an air force helicopter in Saran district on Friday afternoon.
The incident occurred at the Gandak embankment near Parsurampur village under Amnour police station area. A large number of flood-affected people have taken refuge on the embankment.
According to the villagers, the air force helicopter dropped a packet containing ‘chura’ (flattened rice) and roasted gram weighing around 5 kg. It fell on Anil’s head and he collapsed immediately.
“It appears a flood relief packet dropped by a helicopter fell on the victim's head, causing his death. His body has been sent for postmortem to ascertain the exact cause of death. The police are investigating the matter,” said Marhaura sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Savindra Kumar Das.
Senior district administration officials said that the next of the of Anil would be given compensation if the death is proved to have occurred due to a flood-relief distribution mishap.
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