The Kosi River is flooding thousands and thousands of acres of land. Essentially, the Kosi River relocated. The Kosi River is a tributary of the Ganges River that had abandoned one channel more than 200 years ago. The increased monsoon rains allowed the river to overflow its embankments and once again take up residence in the once-abandoned channel. Along with the relocation of the river, more than 1 million people were forced to relocate and more than 2.5 million people have been impacted by the floods.
In the image to the right, taken just over 2 weeks apart, the abandoned channel of the Kosi river can be seen on August 8, 2008. In the top part of the image, the river swelled the old channel with flood waters.
Kosi Flood Resources
Monsoon season has been especially rough in India for 2008. While monsoon season is a much needed relief from seasonal
droughts, the rains keep coming down causing millions to relocate themselves along with the river.
