At least nine persons perished in the floods in Bihar on Thursday, taking the deluge toll to 53 since Wednesday as the situation worsened due to heavy rain in the state and neighbouring Nepal.

At present 17 Bihar districts — Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Samastipur, Khagaria, Saharsa, Madhepura, Araria, Katihar, Bhagalpur, Munger, East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Saran, Vaishali and Patna — are affected by severe floods.

Around 30 lakh people have been affected by the deluge of whom 2.2 lakh have been displaced from their homes and many have been forced to eat at community kitchens being run by the state government.

A large number of people have taken refuge on national highways crisscrossing the flood-affected areas. They are spending their days and nights under temporary shelters built with the help of bamboo poles and polythene sheets.

There is no respite in sight for the flood-hit areas due to the continuous rainfall that has led to the major rivers flowing above the danger level. Heavy discharge of water flowing down from Nepal into the Gandak and Kosi rivers has further deteriorated the situation. The Ganga has also risen above the danger level again in Patna, posing a fresh threat to areas along the river.

According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), the Gandak is currently flowing at its highest flood level of 51.75 metres at Lalganj in Vaishali district.

The state government has deployed 17 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) in the affected areas to conduct rescue and relief operations. It has also kept two NDRF teams and three SDRF teams on standby in flood-prone districts.

“We are using 1,865 boats for rescue and relief operations as well as to facilitate the movement of people from one place to another. More boats will be deployed, if needed. Polythene sheets and dry ration packets are being distributed. The government has also provided Rs 477 crore as gratuitous relief to 7.96 lakh families. Damage to crops is also being assessed to provide relief to the farmers,” disaster management minister Renu Devi said.

Other departments connected to roads and electricity are also assessing the damage to infrastructure due to floods.

With floodwaters touching the upper parts of a bridge on the Samastipur–Darbhanga route, the railways had to cancel 14 trains and divert 14 others. Eight trains are either being terminated before their destination or being started from stations beyond their normal origin.