Bihar flood relief work to continue as crisis worsens: UNICEF

NEW YORK: More than three million people have been uprooted by unprecedented floods in Bihar with the UNICEF saying it would continue its relief operations in what it described as "grim humanitarian situation".

"This is damage on an extremely large scale," Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said at a press briefing yesterday.

"The Indian authorities are well equipped and are dealing with this from their own resources, but we have offered them help and there is the possibility of funding," Holmes added.

The relief and rehabilitation operation in Bihar could be needed for several months, according to the aid workers on the ground in the flood-afflicted area.

UNICEF is concentrating its efforts on delivering life-saving supplies such as clean water, medicines and shelter equipment, much of which was already stored in the region before the floods struck Bihar.

"Last year, flooding had affected other areas in Bihar and since then UNICEF had stockpiled emergency material there," the agency's spokesperson Veronique Taveau told reporters. "Therefore, it was able to immediately help affected people with plastic sheets, hygiene kits and other aid," she added.