An estimated 66,500 people have been displaced in Sunsari and Saptari due to flood. Approximately 42 percent are of Indian origin.
About one third of the affected population is Muslim. Eighteen percent are Dalit. Only 35 percent have so far received a government identity card.
Improvements in the shelter situation are of utmost importance. Camps are overcrowded, poorly maintained and more than half of the displaced people report that their current shelter provides insufficient protection against the weather.
There is an urgent need for firewood or cooking fuel to enable households to cook.
Displaced people place a large burden on the hosting families/communities. Only about 15 percent currently receive humanitarian assistance.
The impact on housing, livelihoods, animals and assets was significant with most households reporting complete or partial losses.
The most severe coping strategies are practised by households staying in spontaneous camps or with host families. Significantly, these also demonstrate the worst patterns of consumption. Humanitarian aid, however, is currently focused mostly on people residing in established camps.
The acute malnutrition rate among displaced children under the age of 5 was found to be 13 percent. Furthermore, one-third of the children are at risk of becoming malnourished.
The flood has caused a significant increase in commodity prices which were already at very high levels. This price rise will further compromise people’s access to food.