Eastern India Awash in Fatal Floods

PATNA, India — Torrential rain and floods swept the eastern Indian state of Bihar, claiming at least three lives and marooning thousands Saturday as the army struggled to carry out rescue and relief operations.

Four rain-swollen rivers overflowed their banks, washing away mud and thatch houses and inundating fields.

People were forced to seek refuge on higher ground or move to schools and government buildings in safer places.

Three people drowned when flood waters swamped their homes in the village of Dumaria in West Champaran district, 375 miles southeast of the capital, New Delhi, an official said. Local newspapers reported that six people died in the floods.

At least 500,000 people have been affected, and crops worth $2.1 million have been ruined, said Girish Shankar, Bihar’s relief commissioner.

Army troops rescued hundreds of people marooned on the roofs of their houses or in trees where they had climbed to escape the fury of the swirling waters of the Gandak, Ganges, Kosi and Kamala Balan rivers.

They were being ferried to schools where camps have been set up for those left homeless by the floods.

However, there were complaints that food and medical relief had not reached many inundated areas.

Heavy downpours in neighboring Nepal led the swollen Kamala Balan river to wash away at least 40 villages in India’s Madhubani district, said Radha Singh, Bihar’s water resources commissioner.