A massive massive rescue and relief operation is underway in India in the wake of massive flooding along the Kosi river in Bihar, India. This follows floods that have already affected parts of Nepal, where the Kosi is called the Saptakoshi river.

On Aug. 8, a dam on the Saptakoshi burst, triggering the subsequent flooding in Bihar. Officials in Nepal say nearly 1,000 houses have been completely destroyed and 50,000 are homeless. Power supplies and transport have been severely affected. Hundreds of people there have been hit by water-borne illnesses such as diarrea and pneumonia.

In Bihar, officials said 725 villages were badly affected by the floods and 106 relief camps had been set up. At least 124,000 people have been evacuated to safer grounds.A report released by Unicef says there are fears of infectious diseases as hundreds of thousands of homeless crowd into relief camps.

Over 2 million people have been affected by this flood.

The effect has been enormous, inundating numerous towns and villages that were considered “flood safe areas”, and that had not seen such floods for decades. Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh has declared the floods affecting Bihar a "national calamity."