East Champaran Floods: Gandak river swells to record high, breaches embankments in Bihar

The Gandak river swelled to a record level in Bihar's West Champaran district following heavy rains in Nepal, damaging embankments and triggering flooding in several villages as authorities remained on alert over the threat of further inundation.

The water level in the Gandak reached 91.25 metres at Bagaha, the Water Resources Department said, 0.35 metres higher than the previous record recorded in 2024.

Two stretches of the Champaran embankment at Khairatwa in Bagaha-1 and Phuliyakhad in Bairia on the left bank of the Gandak were damaged overnight due to excessive water discharge from the Valmikinagar barrage following intense rainfall in Nepal.


The breach at the Champaran embankment has flooded villages in Nautan, with floodwater also reaching the highway.

In Gopalganj, the release of around 5 lakh cusecs of water from the barrage has flooded several villages, with water entering homes in five panchayats.

The department said 169 seepage points had so far been repaired, while four teams were rushed to Bagaha, Bettiah, Motihari and Gopalganj as embankments remained under heavy pressure.

A discharge of 5,43,500 cusecs was recorded at the Valmikinagar barrage at 6 am on Monday. The discharge remained above 5 lakh cusecs for 13 hours and above 4 lakh cusecs for 32 hours.

At the Gandak Barrage in Valmikinagar, the discharge stood at 1,86,200 cusecs at 10 am, down from 1,91,200 cusecs at 8 am on Monday, the department said.

The situation has also remained critical along the Kosi and Bagmati rivers in other parts of Bihar. In Khagaria, the district administration has deployed 10 boats and identified 66 community kitchens and seven relief camps amid the rising water levels.

District Magistrate Vikram Virkar said the Bagmati was at 37.4 metres, around 1.5 metres below its High Flood Level, while the Kosi stood at 35.24 metres, 1.16 metres below its HFL.

"transport has been partially disrupted...arrangements for 10 boats have been made to address this. Instructions have been issued to all Circle Officers, Block Development Officers, Station House Officers (SHOs), Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs), and Sub-Divisional Police Officers (SDPOs). The entire administration is active in the field...35 locations have been identified for community kitchens...approximately 2,000 people have been affected in terms of mobility..." Virkar said.

Meanwhile, discharge at the Kosi Barrage in Birpur was 1,20,055 cusecs at 10 am, while the Sone Barrage in Indrapuri recorded 1,51,116 cusecs, the Water Resources Department said.


(Inputs from agencies)