Several districts of Bihar have been put on high alert after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall and issued warnings of potential flash floods in the state.
The IMD bulletin, issued on Friday, has forecast severe weather in the districts of West and East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali, Patna, Jehanabad, Madhubani, and Bhojpur.
“These districts are at risk of low to moderate flash floods over the next 24 hours,” said the IMD, prompting the Bihar Disaster Management Department to ask local authorities to remain vigilant and initiate preventive measures.
The situation is particularly critical in 12 districts along the Ganga, including Buxar, Bhojpur, Saran, Patna, Samastipur, Begusarai, Munger, and Bhagalpur, where torrential rain has created flood-like conditions.
The rising water levels have already affected nearly 1.35 million people in low-lying areas, forcing mass evacuations. Thousands of residents have been relocated to relief camps, officials confirmed.
With rivers like the Kosi and Gandak swelling dangerously, the Bihar Water Resources Department has issued flood alerts in surrounding areas.
"The water levels of several rivers have been rising due to continuous rainfall over the past two to three days," a department official said.
Rainfall in neighbouring Nepal’s catchment areas has exacerbated the situation, causing rivers along the border to flow above danger levels.
In response, authorities have lifted gates at the Valmikinagar Barrage on the Gandak River, releasing 6.87 lakh cusecs of water on Saturday morning, according to a bulletin from the Water Resources Department.
Similarly, 7.54 lakh cusecs of water were released from the Kosi Birpur Barrage the same morning to alleviate pressure on the river system.
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