Floods affected over 1 billion people during 2015-17

Floods affected over a billion people in the country and caused damages amounting to Rs 85,673 crore during 2015-17, the government said on Thursday.

In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, said 4,902 people and 82,146 cattle were killed in floods during the period.

In 2015, 1,420 people lost their lives due to floods, with Tamil Nadu topping the list with 421 casualties, he said.

The overall losses stood at around Rs 57,291.11 crore. Tamil Nadu topped the list incurring damages worth Rs 25,912.51 crore, followed by West Bengal, which registered a loss of Rs 25,353.27 crore.

Losses incurred due to floods in 2016 stood at around Rs 5,675 crore. The year also saw 1,420 casualties, Meghwal said.

In 2017, 2,062 people lost their lives and damages incurred amounted to Rs 22,706.98 crore.

West Bengal reported a loss of Rs 43,081 crore in the last three years.

In 2015, 33.20 million people were affected due to floods, followed by 26.55 million in 2016 and 46.98 million in 2017.