As conditions worsen in the aftermath of recent heavy rainfall and flooding in South Asia, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is expanding its assistance to include emergency response projects in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and China.

Recent reports state that the heavy flooding has affected millions of people across the region. Although rainfall has halted and floodwaters have begun to recede, thousands of villages are still submerged, with more than 30 million people in India alone displaced by the recent flooding.

The most critical needs for survivors include food, immediate shelter, medical services, clothing, and clean drinking water. Health issues are rampant due to unsanitary and stagnant floodwaters, with thousands of survivors plagued by diarrhea, viral fever, typhoid fever, malaria, hepatitis, dysentery, and the common cold.

In response to the crisis in India, where official reports place the death toll at more than 1,300, ADRA has completed an initial emergency distribution of food packs for an estimated 3,600 people in West Bengal, India, where the rains submerged acres of farmland.

In addition, ADRA India is currently supporting approximately 1,150 families (5,750 individuals) in the state of Bihar, the most affected in India, with insecticide-treated tarpaulins, water containers, water-purifying supplies, oral rehydration salts, and hygiene kits. ADRA India is also sending a REDO water purification unit to Bihar, with the capacity of supplying 40,000 liters of drinking water per day.

In Bangladesh, ADRA has completed the distribution of emergency food packets containing lentils, oil, salt, and potable water to more than 200 families (approximately 1,200 individuals) affected by the disaster in northern Bangladesh. Each packet has enough supplies to last each family up to seven days. The project is funded by ADRA International, the ADRA Asia Regional Office, and the Northern Bangladesh Mission office of Seventh-day Adventists.

In Nepal, ADRA has already completed a medical intervention that responded to the health concerns of 600 flood survivors in the Banke district, where cases of waterborne diseases are on the rise. The initial medical response in Nepal was funded by ADRA International, the Southern Asia Division of Seventh-day Adventists, and ADRA Nepal.

ADRA is currently implementing an expanded medical response addressing the health needs of 20,000 flood-affected people in the Banke, Bardiya, Rupandehi, and Udayapur districts of Nepal. ADRA is working in partnership with Sheer Memorial Hospital, in Banepa, Nepal, to coordinate the medical response.

ADRA Nepal’s expanded response is also providing transitional shelter, mosquito nets, and bedding for an additional 500 families (3,000 individuals) whose homes have been completely destroyed by flooding.

ADRA Nepal is working with the Nepal Red Cross, as well as local government authorities and community leaders, to select the beneficiaries most affected and most in need of assistance. The expanded response in Nepal is being funded by ADRA offices in Norway, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Czech Republic, and Canada.

In eastern China, where recent severe flooding and landslides—reportedly the worst in history—have left nearly five million displaced from their homes, ADRA has completed an emergency relief project that distributed food packets and water sanitation tools to more than 1,500 people in Fuyang City.

The food packets consisted of rice, soybeans, and oil, which were chosen to complement existing foods that are already available. The distribution assists subsistence farmers who lost their crops during flooding. In addition, 630 mosquito nets have been provided to vulnerable families who have lost their homes and are currently living in relief tents.

“We don’t want this disaster to be forgotten or neglected,” said Linda Zhu, country director for ADRA China. “Hundreds of thousands of people are in desperate need of assistance. It may take several months, or even years, for the poorest communities to rebuild and recover.” ADRA International, the ADRA Asia Regional Office, and the China Union Mission office of Seventh-day Adventists funded the initial response.

ADRA will provide updates as relief efforts continue to expand in the disaster-affected regions.

ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, or ethnicity.