South Asian flood victims are scrambling for food as the Indian air force struggled to bring relief to some two million stranded people.
On Monday, helicopters hovered around northern India's flooded plains, dropping 4,300 food packages for the third day, said Manoj Shrivastav, the Bihar state disaster management secretary.
The provisions couldn't come fast enough for residents who took to looting government supply trucks and fighting each other for the food, according to Upendera Sharma, a local government official.
Even as the rain stopped falling and water began to recede across northern India and Bangladesh, the situation remains grim for the scores of people whose homes have now been destroyed. Aside from facing a serious food shortage, water-borne diseases are rapidly spreading among them, as well-water has been contaminated by the floods.
Health officials warned the public on Tuesday about more than 1,000 cases of people sick with gastroenteritis and cholera in the districts of Maharajganj, Gorakhpur and Bara Banki in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state.
Health officials set up special medical camps and began distributing chlorine tablets for purifying drinking water. Health workers were also to disinfect the wells.
"The children, women and very poorest, I think (these are) the three vulnerable sections of the whole society and they get affected," Mohammed Emrul Hasan, economic policy and development advisor with Plan Canada told CTV Canada AM Tuesday.
Millions are stranded as a result of the recent floods and at least 376 are confirmed dead. The numbers are expected to grow dramatically amid scarce supplies of food and water. Since June, when the monsoon began hitting the region, more than 1,200 people have died in India alone.
Shrivastav noted the heavy rainfall from the monsoon was the heaviest to hit the region in 30 years. The monsoon season typically lasts until September.
Plan Canada, an international development organization, has dispatched emergency aid and relief workers to the area not only to help victims but to help assess the situation.
The Canadian government announced Monday it would do its part to help ease the devastation by donating $1 million to emergency relief efforts in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Hasan said Canada is providing significant assistance, considering the South Asian governments haven't yet asked for international help.
"I think we're talking about more than ($1 million)," he said. "Coming from a bilateral country, it's encouraging. But we're also talking about other countries who are coming out with this funding as well."
In the meantime, organizations will have to focus on overcoming some of the serious challenges they will face trying to get relief to the region.
"It's very difficult to go to this flood-affected area because the water level is rising and you have so many people coming and asking for relief," Hasan said. "Managing that relief activity is very difficult."
With files from The Associated Press
