Following heavy rainfall in Nepal, the Gandak River is in spate, and several districts in Bihar are affected by floods. Floodwaters have entered more than 200 villages in Champaran after an embankment breached.
बिहार के चंपारण में घंटे में 4 जगह तटबंध टूटे, 200 से ज्यादा गांव डूबे, लाखों प्रभावित
Headline…
- Following heavy rainfall in Nepal, the water level of the Gandak River has risen rapidly, deepening the flood crisis across several districts of Bihar.
- Embankments breached at four locations in West Champaran within a span of about 10 hours, allowing floodwaters to reach more than 200 villages.
- The water level of the Gandak River in Bagaha reached a record high as 5.43 lakh cusecs of water were released from the Valmikinagar Barrage.
- Road and rail traffic have been disrupted by the floods, while erosion caused by the Ganges River poses a threat to a stretch of railway track spanning approximately 100 meters.
A sudden surge in the Gandak River—triggered by heavy rains in its upper catchment areas in Nepal—has severely aggravated the flood situation in several Bihar districts. West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, and Saran are among the worst-affected areas. The river’s strong current breached the Champaran embankment at multiple points within a few hours, causing floodwaters to inundate over 200 villages.
Embankment breaches occurred at Khairatwa in Bagaha-1 around 8:30 PM on Monday and at Fuliyakhad in Bairiya at 2:00 AM. Subsequently, the embankment was damaged at Bathuvaria in Bagaha-1 around 4:00 AM and at Golaghat in Yogapatti at 6:30 PM on Tuesday. The influx of water at Bathuvaria has submerged more than 3,000 homes in Navalpur. An estimated population of 6.5 lakh has been directly affected by the floods, with residents abandoning their homes to seek shelter on higher ground. Gandak Sets New Record; Flood Level Reaches 91.25 Meters
The severity of the flood can be gauged from the fact that a water discharge of 543,500 cusecs was recorded at the Valmikinagar Gandak Barrage at 6 AM on Tuesday. The river’s flow remained above 500,000 cusecs for 13 hours and exceeded 400,000 cusecs for 32 hours. This increased flood pressure on low-lying areas across West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Saran, Muzaffarpur, and Vaishali.
According to the Water Resources Department, while the peak discharge at the barrage remained slightly below the 2024 record of 562,500 cusecs, the river set a new historic record at the Bagaha gauge site. The water level there reached 91.25 meters, surpassing the previous highest flood level of 90.90 meters (recorded in 2024) by 35 centimeters.
The immense water pressure led to instances of seepage, piping, and overtopping along the embankments. Field teams from the department took immediate action to secure 169 locations affected by seepage and piping. Despite these efforts, the embankments breached at several locations during the intervening night of September 28 and 29.
5 Feet of Water in East Champaran; Road Connectivity Severed
A ring embankment of the Gandak River breached around 3 AM on Monday in the Sareya Panchayat of Areraj, East Champaran. Following the breach, floodwaters rose to a depth of approximately 5 feet in the villages of Sareya Pandey Tola, Loknathpur, and Sikatiya. Traffic movement has come to a complete halt due to water inundating the Areraj-Patna State Highway, while about 2 feet of water is flowing over the Areraj-Hajipur main State Highway (SH-74) in Sangrampur. The collapse of the ‘retired’ embankment associated with the PP embankment at Sugauli in Piprasi has increased water pressure on the main PP embankment. Floodwaters have also reached the Nautan-Gopalganj road. Additionally, the embankment on the right bank of the Gandak River in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, has sustained damage at one location. Meanwhile, rising water levels in the Bagmati and Kosi rivers are affecting the Darbhanga, Samastipur, and Muzaffarpur districts.
Threat to Rail Tracks; Trains Cancelled and Diverted
Flooding and riverbank erosion have impacted train operations as well. On the Bhagalpur-Sahibganj-Maharajpur rail section, severe erosion by the Ganges near the Maharajpur-Jhunjhri bridge has put approximately 100 meters of railway track at risk; the distance between the track and the river has shrunk to about 20 meters. As a safety precaution, train movement on the ‘down’ line has been suspended, and efforts to protect the track are underway.
Due to the erosion, four trains were cancelled and six were diverted on Tuesday. Some trains were rerouted via Bhagalpur-Dumka-Rampurhat, Jamalpur-Munger-Katihar, and Kiul-Jhajha. One passenger train and one express train were short-terminated at Sahibganj. It has also been decided to keep the 63074 Sahibganj-Rampurhat MEMU and the 13428 Sahibganj-Howrah Intercity Express cancelled on Wednesday, September 30.
Engineering Teams Deployed for Relief and Rescue
Teams from the Bihar Water Resources Department and the West Champaran district administration are deployed at the site to manage the situation. Embankment repairs and emergency protection works are in progress. The department’s headquarters has dispatched teams led by four Executive Engineers to Bagaha, Bettiah, Motihari, and Gopalganj. These teams are working alongside the already deployed engineering staff to prevent erosion and safeguard the embankments.
By 8 AM on Tuesday, the water discharge at the Valmikinagar Barrage had dropped to 191,200 cusecs, and a downward trend in the water level was observed. However, water levels in downstream areas continue to rise temporarily as floodwaters advance. The department and senior officials are closely monitoring the situation.
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