Thousands of people have been affected by floods which hit West Bengal on the 10th of September. ACTED, already present in the area, has been providing immediate relief support to the affected communities, starting with food distributions. 965 families have thus received food rations with the support of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department.

The highest tide since Cyclone Aila occurred on the morning of the 10th of September and resulted in a breach of approximately 30 meters of embankment in Katharbari Chak Village, in West Bengal, India.

As a result, saline water completely flooded the village and the surrounding areas. The flooding destroyed approximately 2,000 houses and 5,000 people are affected in terms of damage to housing, contamination of paddy fields and fresh-water ponds and the death of fish fingerlings in these ponds.

Of the 5,000 people affected, some 1,800-2,000 people are homeless and in need of urgent food, water and shelter assistance and will require mid to longer term support in particular in terms of livelihood recovery.

ACTED was already present in the area as part of its programme, supported by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department, for the promotion of disaster preparedness and recovery among the most vulnerable and remote flood-affected communities in West Bengal, following Cyclone Aila which hit the region in May 2009.

ACTED staff, in association with Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), have visited the affected sites by boat, supervised the work of the embankment repair and exchanged with the affected people to assess their immediate needs. In response to the West Bengal floods, ACTED distributed food aid to 965 families by way of the programme supported by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department.