Heavy rainfall and the collapse of an upstream dam on 21 July 2024 led to a flash flood that affected around 8800 persons living in Kirandul town in the aspirational block (administrative division) of Kuakonda in Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh. The flooding filled homes with water, mud and debris, and disrupted electricity and drinking water services.
Dantewada district administration immediately rolled out rescue operations and evacuations, deploying health teams from Community Health Centre (CHC) Kirandul to reach health services to flood-affected population in their homes. Measures were simultaneously taken to ensure institutional healthcare services – including childbirth, immunization, inpatient care, and disease surveillance based on out-patient department reports – remained uninterrupted at CHC Kirandul.
"The first flood came suddenly on 21 July and completely destroyed our home. The path to our house caved in, making access very difficult. Despite this, the health department team came home to test us for dengue and malaria, and give us medicines for fever, cold, cough, and diarrhoea. They have been doing regular follow ups and have even given us the phone number of a mitanin (name for an Asha worker or community health volunteer in the local dialect) for emergencies. I’m very satisfied with the health support provided," said Mr Vinod Prasad Singh, a mason, who lives with his wife Ms Geeta in Rai Camp, Kirandul.
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Mr Vinod Prasad Singh and Ms Geeta Singh outside their flood-damaged home in Kirandul (Photo: Gaurav Kumar /© WHO India)
The district administration requested the WHO Country Office for India (WHO India) field team in Dantewada to support the provision of uninterrupted healthcare services and the strengthening of community-led flood preparedness and response in Kuakonda block. This is one of the 52 aspirational blocks in 10 states and union territories being provided direct block support from WHO India for improving seven key health indicators under the Government of India’s Aspirational Blocks Programme that aims to improve the overall quality of life in 500 blocks in 27 states and four UTs.
On 22 July, a health team led by the district chief medical and health officer went to the flood-affected areas to implement the following actions:
- Door-to-door surveys and treatment of common illnesses.
- Daily rapid-house visits by health teams for outbreaks monitoring.
- Provision of safe drinking water through alternative arrangements (tanker).
- Distribution of chlorine tablets to households.
- Information and behaviour-change communication about protecting health.
Teams comprising Asha workers (community health volunteers), auxiliary nurse midwives, nurses, and paramedical workers led by Dr Desh Deepak, block medical officer Kuakonda, visited the homes for health assessment of the affected families and the early identification of potential outbreaks. Older persons, pregnant women, children, and persons with disabilities were prioritized.
WHO India provided guidance on post-flood healthcare management and supported monitoring of active door-to-door surveys, information, education and communication on healthcare during and after floods, and training of panchayat leaders on community preparedness and revenue officers on community-based healthcare management during floods.
WHO India supported the district administration to train representatives of 143 panchayats at a Panchayat Sammelan (village council meeting) organized at the district headquarters to strengthen community preparedness for floods. “We are focusing on community-level preparedness for floods so that panchayats can lead community awareness and respond immediately during such events. We have trained numerous panchayat leaders with WHO’s technical assistance,” said Mr Kumar Biswaranjan, chief executive officer, zila panchayat, Dantewada.
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Dr Desh Deepak, block medical officer Kuakonda (second from right), led health teams in conducting door-to-door visits to identify the health needs of the affected families (Photo: Suvendu Mistri /© WHO India)
“WHO India is supporting the district and block administration teams in ensuring essential health services are operational in the blocks, conduct house-to-house surveys for early identification of outbreaks, and train panchayat leaders to prepare their respective communities for the monsoons/floods to ensure the efforts are sustainable. Empowering communities to better prepare for, respond to, and recover from floods is an effective sustainable strategy to minimise the impact on lives and livelihoods and reduce the dependency on external support,” said Dr Roderico H. Ofrin, WHO Representative to India.
"Floods are emergencies requiring a multisectoral response. The Kirandul flash flood was unexpected, yet our team managed well, saving both human and animal lives. Healthcare and disease prevention are critical, and our team has been actively conducting surveillance in the community. We are now better prepared to prevent and mitigate the impacts of future floods,” Mr Mayak Chaturvedi, district collector, Dantewada.