Bihar flood fury: Death toll mounts to 691

At least 691 people have so far lost their lives in the recent spell of floods even as the overall situation in Bihar registered marked improvement with water levels of major rivers including the Gandak, Kosi and Bagmati receding.

State disaster management department sources said 16 more deaths were reported from Darbhanga (5), Sitamarhi (4), Samastipur (2), Muzaffarpur (3) and Khagaria (2) due to floods during the past 48 hours, taking the death toll to 691.

Over two crore people have so far been affected by floods in 20 districts of Bihar.

State chief secretary KAH Subramaniam said a team of agriculture scientists would visit the flood-affected areas to assess the damage caused to the crops and explore the possibility of sowing late variety of paddy seedlings.

Standing crops spread in 13.59 lakh hectares the value of which was estimated around Rs 378.73 crore had been destroyed.

According to a central water commission report all the major rivers, including, Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati and Kreh are receding and their water level is likely to fall further in the next 48 hours.