The Independent looks at two lethal forces of nature, both devastating, in different parts of the world — and the different responses they’ve got
It makes for a stark contrast. Two lethal forces of nature have cut a swath across two different regions of the globe in the past week. Yet while the impact of Hurricane Gustav on the southern states of America has grabbed the world’s attention, the catastrophic floods in the Indian state of Bihar have barely registered on the international radar. What makes the discrepancy even starker is that the Bihar disaster has so far been considerably more destructive, killing hundreds and leaving more than a million people in this desperately poor region homeless.
There are, of course, practical reasons why the plight of the southern US has been more comprehensively covered by the world’s media than the inundated villages of Bihar. It is much harder for journalists to get to this remote part of India than it is to New Orleans. The world also had ample forewarning of Gustav, with meteorologists tracking its progress hour by hour through the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. But there was no warning when the Kosi river broke its banks on the Nepal border. The South Asian monsoon rains had been unusually severe, but no one could predict that such a disaster was about to strike.
Even in flood, India’s `untouchables’ last rescued
The Associated Press:
In the two weeks since a monsoon-swollen river burst its banks, ancient prejudices have run just as deep as the floodwaters. India’s “untouchables” are the last to be rescued – if at all – from a deluge that has killed dozens and made 1.2 million homeless.
Dalits, the social outcasts at the bottom of the Hindu caste ladder, have borne the brunt of the devastation as the rampaging Kosi River swamped hundreds of square miles in northern India after it overflowed and shifted its course dozens of miles to the east.
On Sunday, one Dalit, Mohan Parwan ran up and down a half destroyed bridge that has become the headquarters for rescue operations in this town near the border with Nepal, desperately scanning arriving boats for signs of his family.
Dozens came in but each time he was disappointed.
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