IDIAN FLOODS

As soon as the navy boats hit the water, hundreds of villagers swarmed around them -- pleading with rescue crews to head to their homes to retrieve the bodies of dead relatives  The crew explained that it could not. Its mission was to reach villagers stranded on rooftops and in trees, nearly two weeks after the worst flooding to hit the Indian state of Bihar.  The crowd drowned out their answers with angry shouts.  The Indian federal government estimates three million people have been affected by flooding in Bihar.  Authorities in Nepal said the waters had displaced more than 100,000 Nepalese.  Indian federal and state governments have released conflicting death tolls for Bihar. The latest figure released by the federal government put the number of casualties at 54.  Fifteen navy boats took off on a rescue operation in Purnia Monday, one of the districts hardest hit by the flood.  They were part of a massive relief operation underway in the northeast Indian state -- even as the misery that the Kosi River had wrought showed little signs of abating.  On August 18, a dam in Nepal broke, breaching the eastern embankment of the Kosi. The waterway straddles the India-Nepal border.  Water flushed through the breach so forcefully that the river changed course in Bihar. It gobbled up thousands of villages on either side of the border.  Government and aid agencies swung into action to help the thousands of people who fled the fast-moving waters. Officials set up 182 camps where 114,000 residents have sought shelter, the interior ministry said Monday.  Food there is scarce, but the crowded camps sit on dry grounds.  But many are yet to be rescued. Officials worry that in coming days, stranded residents may take to drinking the contaminated river water -- raising fears of an epidemic.  The navy boats Monday carried life jackets and water. Crews scanned the horizon, looking for hope amid the hopelessness that stretched for miles. 

 

The relentless monsoon rains that caused the Kosi to overflow in India and Nepal also brought anguish to neighboring Bangladesh. Floods there have marooned at least 20,000 people in the northern part of the country. Forecasters said the situation could worsen in the next few days because all major rivers were expected to rise by six inches a day.  Monsoon rains sweep across the subcontinent from June to September. While they bring much-needed relief to often-parched farmlands, they also leave a trail of landslides, home collapses and floods.     retrieve  [Hide phonetics] verb [T]  to find and bring back (something)  Her grandson had jumped into a nearby yard to retrieve a ball when he was attacked by the dogs. retrieval  [Hide phonetics] noun [U]  information storage and retrieval  swarm  [Hide phonetics] noun [C]  a large group of insects, esp. bees, or any large, busy group  Swarms of reporters descended on the little town. swarm  [Hide phonetics] verb [I always + adv/prep]  to move in a large group  In summer, mosquitoes swarm around that pond     plead (REQUEST)  [Hide phonetics] verb [I]  to make an urgent, emotional statement or request for something  She appeared on television to plead with the kidnappers to release her husband.  drown sth out phrasal verb [M] INFORMAL If a loud noise drowns out another noise, it prevents it from being heard.  misery      Hide phonetics noun 1 [C or U] We have witnessed the most appalling scenes of human misery. Ten years of marriage to him have made her life a misery. 2 [C] INFORMAL someone who is often very unhappy and is always complaining about things: Oh come on, don't be such a misery  death toll noun [C usually singular] the number of people who die because of an event such as a war or an accident: The day after the explosion the death toll had risen to 90  abate  [Hide phonetics] verb [I/T]  to become less strong, or to make (something) less strong  Our desire for consumer goods has not abated  displace  [Hide phonetics] verb [T]  to force (something or someone) out of its usual or original place  A major government offensive against rebel groups threatens to displace large numbers of people.  dam  [Hide phonetics] noun [C]  a wall built across a river to stop the flow and collect the water, esp. to make a reservoir (= an artificial lake) that provides water for an area or can be used to make electricity  dam  [Hide phonetics] verb [T]  to build a dam across (a river) in order to store the water  Fish are affected when a river is dammed up  breach (OPENING)  [Hide phonetics] noun [C]  an opening in a wall or fence or in a line of military defense  breach  [Hide phonetics] verb [T]  The river breached the dams.  embankment  [Hide phonetics] noun [C]  an artificial slope made of earth or stones  a river embankment  gobble (EAT)  [Hide phonetics] verb [T]  to eat quickly and sometimes noisily  Nowadays people gobble pills like peanuts. She gobbled up/down her lunch and hurried back  swing (MOVE SIDEWAYS)  [Hide phonetics] verb [I/T]  to move backward and forward or from one side to the other, esp. from a fixed point, or to cause (something) to move this way  He hung upside down and swung back and forth. The heavy door swung open. Campanella knew how to swing a bat. He swung the car into the garage.  scarce      Hide phonetics adjective not easy to find or obtain: Food and clean water were becoming scarce. scarce resources scarcity      Hide phonetics noun [U] when something is not easy to find or obtain: the scarcity of skilled workers  contaminate  Hide phonetics verb [T] to spoil the purity of something or make it poisonous: Much of the coast has been contaminated by nuclear waste. The food which had been contaminated was destroyed.  contaminated      Hide phonetics adjective  epidemic  Hide phonetics noun 1 [C] the appearance of a particular disease in a large number of people at the same time: a flu/AIDS epidemic 2 [C usually singular] a particular problem that seriously affects many people at the same time: a crime/unemployment epidemic epidemic  Hide phonetics adjective Poverty in this country has reached epidemic proportions (= has an effect on many people). Crime and poverty are epidemic in the city.  horizon  [Hide phonetics] noun  the place in the distance where the earth and sky seem to meet  We watched the horizon as the sun set. A person's horizons are the limit of their ideas, knowledge, and experience: Spending her junior year abroad has broadened her horizons.  relent  Hide phonetics verb [I] SLIGHTLY FORMAL to act in a less severe way towards someone and allow something that you had refused to allow before: Her parents eventually relented and let her go to the party. The security guard relented and let them through. relentless  Hide phonetics adjective continuing in a severe or extreme way: relentless criticism/pressure relentless heat  monsoon      Hide phonetics noun [C] the season of heavy rain during the summer in hot Asian countries: The failure of the monsoon would destroy harvests on which 1000 million people rely.  anguish  Hide phonetics noun [U] extreme unhappiness caused by physical or mental suffering: His anguish at the outcome of the court case was very clear. In her anguish she forgot to leave a message. anguished  Hide phonetics adjective an anguished cry  marooned  Hide phonetics adjective left in a place from which you cannot escape: What would you miss most if you found yourself marooned on a desert island? The police are advising motorists marooned by the blizzards to stay in their cars until the rescue services can reach them. maroon  Hide phonetics verb [T]  parched      Hide phonetics adjective 1 (especially of earth or crops) dried out because of too much heat and not enough rain: parched earth/fields/corn It was the height of summer and the land was parched and brown. 2 INFORMAL extremely thirsty: I must get a drink - I'm absolutely parched!