8 more deaths take Bihar flood toll to 213

Floods in Bihar claimed eight more lives on Wednesday, taking the toll to 213 this season, though the water level in majority of the rivers in the state were receding. The national capital of Delhi endured a sultry day with the mercury settling at 35 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal for this time of the year.

Kolkata, which received scanty rainfall despite an overcast sky, recorded a maximum temperature of 31.8 degrees, a notch below average, even as the Met department predicted heavy rain in five districts of south Bengal on Thursday. Maximum temperatures in Punjab and Haryana hovered close to normal at most places.

Fresh casualties
In Bihar, fresh casualties were reported from Vaishali district on the other side of the Ganga from Patna, the state disaster management department stated. Flood conditions continued to prevail in 12 districts, including Patna. A total of 79 blocks and 613 panchayats are inundated at present. The floods have affected 40.60 lakh people in 2,190 villages.

About 3.17 lakh people have been evacuated from the flood-hit Buxar, Bhojpur, Patna, Vaishali, Saran, Begusarai, Samastipur, Lakhisarai, Khagaria, Munger, Bhagalpur and Katihar districts.

The state government has deployed 2,973 boats for evacuation, while the national and state disaster response forces have already been deployed in the affected districts.

With the flood situation easing, the number of relief camps have come down to 181 where 1.15 lakh people continue to take shelter.