New Delhi: A discussion of an assessment survey of the 2024 floods in north Bihar in the national capital on Monday highlighted the scale of household losses suffered, with data showing that damages worth over Rs 126 crore were borne by the affected families.
The discussion at a workshop was based on a household-level assessment which found that 2,290 families living across 134 wards in 21 panchayats of seven flood-hit districts of north Bihar suffered heavy losses during the floods.
The findings are part of the Household-level Flood Loss Assessment 2024, undertaken by Megh Pyne Abhiyan with the support of Tata Trusts. The assessment documented flood-related losses and coping measures at the household level in some of Bihar’s most flood-prone regions.
The assessment and its findings were deliberated upon during a dissemination workshop attended by policymakers, practitioners, researchers, civil society organisations and journalists.
Participants discussed the extent of economic losses, the social impact of the floods and gaps in the existing flood management system highlighted in the report.
According to the assessment, about 91 per cent of affected families reduced their food intake during the floods, while 75 per cent borrowed food from relatives and neighbours.
The survey claimed that 82.18 per cent of families were temporarily displaced and 35.07 per cent mortgaged jewellery to survive the crisis.
The report also noted that 24.93 per cent of households sold or mortgaged livestock, nearly 10 per cent mortgaged land and close to 80 per cent of families were unaware of any form of flood insurance, pointing to high vulnerability and limited financial protection, it added.
Speakers at the workshop said the findings show there is a strong need to improve Bihar’s flood management system, with greater focus on people-centric planning, household-level preparedness, and risk reduction and recovery, instead of a largely reactive approach focused mainly on relief and infrastructure.
