Flood fury hit Bihar on Thursday with major flood bringing rivers spilling over following heavy rains in neighbouring Nepal, affecting several districts and endangering many.

The floodwaters combined with continuous rains have crippled the normal life, forcing the people to flee to higher, safer areas. Kishanganj, Araria, Katihar, Purnea, Gopalganj, Supaul and Bhagalpur are the affected districts, while the rest are soon to be hit by swirling waters of various rivers.

Floodwater was flowing over National Highway 327E in Araria, disrupting the movement of vehicles.

The Bihar government has deployed seven teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) at vantage locations across the state and 17 teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) in as many districts to deal with the emerging scenario.

“We have started rescue operations. Our men saved seven persons and 32 heads of livestock in Kishanganj district,” NDRF 9 Battalion commandant Sunil Kumar Singh told The Telegraph.

Singh added that the NDRF was in constant touch with the Central Water Commission, barrage authorities and the state government officials over the floods.

The discharge in the Kosi river at Birpur barrage on the Indo-Nepal border along Supaul district was 1.7 lakh cusec, while that of the Gandak river at Valmikinagar barrage on the Indo-Nepal border along West Champaran district was 2.1 lakh cusec at 2pm on Thursday. Gandak waters have entered the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Madanpur area.

The only consolation was that the discharge from both the mighty rivers were showing a falling trend.

“There is not much worry for us till the discharge of Gandak at Valmikinagar is less than 2.5 lakh cusec. But we are ready to deal with any situation,” state disaster management department (DMD) officer on special duty Avinash Kumar told The Telegraph.

However, the Gandak was flowing above the danger level at Dumaria Ghat in Gopalganj district and the floodwaters were spreading in the low-lying areas. The Bagmati, Kamla Balan, and Mahananda rivers were also flowing above the danger level at various places in the state.

The water resources department has deployed its engineers and workforce to monitor and protect the flood protection embankments along several rivers as high water levels were putting pressure on them.