India flood victims told to evacuate

Hundreds of thousands of stranded flood victims in India have been told to evacuate after warnings that more heavy rain is on the way.

Authorities in Bihar - one of the country's poorest states - spread the message by air-dropping leaflets to thousands of villages hit by the floods.

But families who fled to makeshift camps have been forced to scavenge as food is scarce.

And aid agencies have warned that conditions have exposed thousands to outbreaks of disease.

"I have not eaten for days, give me food," said ten-year-old Babloo, who survived the floods in Bihar by crossing submerged villages on his family's buffaloes. His parents died.

Stranded hungry villagers, including many children, are eating rotten meat and plants to survive. Many feared their homes would be looted if they left.

Flood victims begged for food from passing vehicles, shouting: "Please stop your car, we want food."

The floods have forced more than three million people from their homes, destroyed 250,000 acres of farmland and killed at least 90 people.

But media reports claim the toll is at least ten times higher, after the Kosi river, which originates in Nepal, burst a dam last month and unleashed the worst flooding in Bihar in 50 years.

"We are appealing to thousands of villagers to leave their houses and come to the camp. It has been raining all day and ... we are afraid these people could get trapped in fresh flooding," Pratyay Amrit, a senior disaster management official, said.

He added: "There could be thousands missing or still stranded but there is no way we can tell the exact numbers."

Meanwhile, hungry villagers have clashed with camp officials in Madhepura, complaining that they were not getting food.

"The children are hungry, they are crying for food," a sobbing Zubeda Khatoon said.

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