The overall flood situation in Bihar showed signs of further improvement on Thursday with almost all the major rivers, including the Ganga and Kosi, maintaining a receding trend, Additional Secretary Disaster Management Pratayaya Amrit said in New Delhi.

The situation in the five worst hit northeastern districts — Saharsa, Supaul, Madhepura, Araria and Purnia –improved further as discharge into Kosi from Barah Kshetra dam in Nepal came down to 61,000 cusecs of water as against 69,000 cusecs on Wednesday, Amrit said.

Disaster Management Minister Nitish Mishra, who also hails from the Kosi belt, has advised flood victims sheltered at relief camps not to return to their homes as the river Kosi has the tendency to overtop its embankments even in the month of October.

The death toll in the current spell of floods rose to 211 in 17 districts with Madhepura alone accounting for 113 deaths followed by 22 (Saharsa), the sources said, adding about 45 lakh people of 2,463 villages were affected.

Over 10.5 lakh people have been evacuated with the help of the Army and National Disaster Response Force and the locals while over 3.4 lakh people have taken shelter in 372 relief camps. The Central Flood Control communique in a statement said that all embankments were safe in Bihar.

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