Flood rescue in Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh, India,
© NDRFFlood rescue in Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh, India, August 2022.
Flooding in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, has affected over 245,000 people over the last few days. The Ganges is above the danger mark in at least 5 locations, including Varanasi.

According to the National Emergency Response Centre (NERC) in India, flooding has affected over 1,000 villages across 22 districts in the state since 26 August 2022.

Authorities have opened 386 relief camps, which, as of 29 August, were housing 16,562 evacuees. As of 31 August NERC reported 245,585 people were affected. At least 4 people have died in the floods in the last few days.

Teams from National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and Provincial Armed Constabulary have been deployed for relief and rescue operations.

On 31 August 2022 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath conducted an aerial survey of the flood affected areas and visited victims in Gazipur and Varanasi districts.


Rising Rivers and Dam Releases

As of 31 August, India's Central Water Commission reported the Ganges was at or above Severe Flood Level in the districts of Ballia, Barabanki, Ghazipur, Praygraj and Varanasi.

In the preceding days the Yamuna River in Praygraj district and the Sarda in Kheri district were also flowing at Severe Flood Level. On 28 to 29 August the Chandrawal in Hamirpur district was above Extreme Flood Level but has since fallen.

The Chief Minister said water released from dams in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had caused flooding in parts of the state. He said, "The rainfall in Uttar Pradesh has been less than average this time, but the problem of flooding has been caused due to excess water released from dams in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh."