Bihar, India: A High Risk Flood Zone

According to Indian water engineer, Dinesh Kumar Mishra, Bihar is one of the most flood-affected states in India. Moreover, the flood-prone area of Bihar has nearly tripled from 2.5 million hectares in 1954 to 6.8 million hectares in 1994 (the latest year for which figures are available). That means 76 % of the population of northern Bihar, or about 30 million people, are at risk from floods every year during the monsoon.

One of the main problems is the height of the Kosi River, which is "jacketed" or confined by embankments for about 130 kilometres. In some stretches between embankments, the Kosi's river bed — not the surface of the river — is four metres above the surrounding land.

The heavy build-up of silt puts embankments under greater strain. If they collapse during a major flood, it will mean a worse disaster than the 1993 US floods, when the Mississippi River breached its dykes, says Ajaya Dixit of the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation.

Lionel Lumb

Back to IDRC Reports Page