NDRF Kolkata carry out flood rescue and relief supplies distribution in West Bengal, India, September 2021.
© NDRFNDRF Kolkata carry out flood rescue and relief supplies distribution in West Bengal, India, September 2021.
At least 10 people have lost their lives as a result of severe flooding in the state of West Bengal, eastern India.

National and State disaster authorities reported flooding struck in the state after days of heavy rain from 14 September 2021. The situation was worsened after dam releases from the Galudih Barrage Dam on the Subarnarekha river in Ulda in the neighbouring state of Jharkhand.



The hardest hit areas in West Bengal are in Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur districts, where rivers have overflowed and embankments failed. Areas of Hooghly, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas districts have also been affected, mostly as a result of recent heavy rainfall. West Bengal State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) said many areas in Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Howrah Municipal Corporation have seen surface flooding.



As of 18 September, authorities said 10 people had died, 1.2 million people were affected and 1,300 evacuated. Nineteen teams from India's National Disaster Response Force have been deployed to affected areas to carry our rescue and evacuation operations and to distribute relief supplies. Extensive damage to agriculture was also reported.