The recent flooding of the Koshi caused by a breach in the embankment on the eastern side of the river (the country’s biggest river and also considered to be its “river of sorrow”) in Sunsari District has wreaked havoc in the adjoining low-lying areas of Sunsari District (and also further down in Bihar, India). Several VDCs in the area have been flooded affecting a total population of some 45000 people and displacing a total of about 15 – 20000 people. Several people have been killed and many houses, schools, cattle and belongings swept away, destroyed or damaged. Crops and lands have been destroyed or swept away and the highway severely damaged and rendered impassable.

Caritas Nepal sent an Emergency Response team down to the site as soon as the early reports were confirmed and immediately set to work delivering relief to the displaced people with the coordination of the local authorities, the District Disaster Relief Committee (DDRC), the Nepal Red Cross and other relief agencies on the ground (UNOCHA, NRCS, UNICEF, Save the Children, Action Aid, World Vision, WFP, OXFAM, etc). The team, which has members on both sides of the river, has already carried out a relief distribution and is busy working on carrying out more distributions.

Here are some photos of the flood, some provided by our team and some by our partner agencies.