Leading Christian aid agencies have launched an appeal to help the millions of people forced to flee their homes in India and Bangladesh, following the worst flooding there in living memory.
Christian Aid's response will include distributing emergency food rations, water and cooking utensils to stranded people in the Indian state of Bihar, one of the worst hit regions.
"This level of constant rainfall in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states is unprecedented. We have never witnessed this before," said Anand Kumar, from the Christian Aid office in India.
"The monsoon season usually starts in late August. But this year we have already had 15 days of sustained rainfall."
World Vision New Zealand, meanwhile, is hoping to raise over $1m worldwide over the next three months for relief and rehabilitation programmes.
Spokeswoman at World Vision, Liz MacIntyre, said they would be asking New Zealanders for more money to support World Vision relief teams already in hardest hit communities in India and Bangladesh.
"We are coordinating efforts with the Inter Agency Group (a coalition of government and aid agencies) and will be providing instant meals immediately," revealed Franklin Joseph, Director of Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs for World Vision in India.
In Bangladesh, World Vision is working with the government to distribute food and non-food items such as candles, matches and soap to deluged communities in the northern Netrokona district, 159 kilometres north of Dhaka.
In Balasore, World Vision is also providing displaced families with roofing materials and seeds to help farmers recover their livelihoods.
Equipping vulnerable communities to reduce the risk of disaster is key, says Tearfund's Head of Region for Asia, Sudarshan Sathianathan.
"We support villagers as they go through the basics of disaster preparedness and response. They have been able to develop communication networks that provide warnings for evacuation to higher ground, and means to strengthen their homes and livelihoods. These are measures that can save lives." says Sudarshan.
