47 UK Doctors warn of flood epidemics Acres still under water Health officials in India are warning of a severe health crisis in Assam, where more than 4.5 million people are affected by widespread flooding. Many areas are still completely submerged and government officials are struggling to distribute relief to communities cut off by the flood water.
More rain is forecast.
A lack of clean drinking water, food shortages and inadequate shelter are making people highly vulnerable to illness and disease. Doctors have warned that illness could spread dramatically if they do not get outside help. Some 300 people are feared dead after days of heavy rain caused rivers to break their banks last week, flooding parts of the country's north east, as well as neighbouring Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh. Swollen rivers receded on Saturday, allowing teams of doctors to take food and medicine to thousands of victims and allowing people to revisit their homes. In the next couple of days more relief material will reach us and we will start massive operations from 16 August.