World Vision's emergency relief teams in India and Bangladesh are on the ground responding to the critical needs of communities hardest hit by the ravaging floods that have displaced nearly 20 million people and left more than 200 dead.

"We are coordinating efforts with the Inter Agency Group (a coalition of government and aid agencies) and will be providing instant meals immediately," said Franklin Joseph, Director of Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs for World Vision in India.

Joseph said that World Vision would provide people in the worst hit regions of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in northern India with dry rations such as flattened rice and powdered wheat, as well as non-food items such as medicine, cooking utensils and clothing.

World Vision has also been involved in rescue operations. Using small boats to cross swelling rivers, World Vision staff and volunteers in Assam, north eastern India, rescued 619 villagers trapped in floodwaters.

In Bangladesh, World Vision is working with the government to distribute food and non-food items such as candles, matches and soap to the communities most severely affected by the floods in the northern Netrokona district, 159 kilometres north of Dhaka.

Although the water is receding in some areas, people are left with broken homes, ruined farmlands and lack of clean water.

World Vision has distributed water filters to 500 families in Balasore district in Orissa where the flood hit last month. The filters will help prevent the spread of water-borne diseases, such as diarrhoea. The water filters have been provided in cooperation with Eureka Forbes, one of India's leading firms in environmental technologies - a partnership that was brokered by World Vision Canada.

In Balasore, World Vision is also providing displaced families with roofing materials and seeds to help farmers recover their livelihoods.