A woman cries as she leaves her flooded village near Trivanigunj, 70km northeast of Patna, on Sunday. (AP)

Aug. 31: Shambhoo Yadav escaped the Kosi’s fury because of his buffalo.

He handed it over to a boatman as the price for his rescue from the flood zone.

“I gave my buffalo to the boatman in exchange for a place in his boat since I didn’t have any money,” said Yadav, one of the 3.5 lakh people plucked out of the floodwaters over the past fortnight and put up in relief camps.

Swirling waters of the river engulfed fresh areas in the 16 north-eastern districts of Bihar today. Over 30 lakh have been affected. Five more persons died today, taking the toll to 90 in the floods, the state’s worst in 50 years.

Disaster management additional secretary P. Amrit put the number of those saved at over 4.75 lakh, but added that lakhs were still stranded.

His boss, disaster management minister Nitish Mishra, struggled to come up with a figure. “I cannot say specifically how many people are still stranded. But their numbers are in lakhs,” he said.

Like Yadav had done before being rescued, many held on to tails of cattle as they crossed flooded roads, their belongings on their heads. Some waved frantically to draw the attention of boatmen.

Heavy rain over the past few days hampered rescue efforts but air force helicopters and army troops have soldiered on.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar said five army columns — one column has about 60 personnel — had been deployed for relief work. He has asked for 25 more.

NGOs are working with rescuers to provide succour in the worst-hit Supaul, Saharsa, Madhepura and Araria districts, home to around 23 lakh of the 30 lakh affected.

In Madhepura town, submerged knee-deep to six feet, people have left their homes for safer zones. B.P. Mandal Square and other important areas in the town are under water.

Those who didn’t leave earlier rued their decision.

“We should have gone earlier. With essentials running out, we will starve if fresh stocks don’t reach,” sobbed Sukhwali Devi.

Her husband and three children have been missing since August 18, when floodwaters first entered their village in Madhepura.

Those lucky to be alive have had to battle not just the turbulent waters but robbers, too.

R.K. Yadav of Madhepura’s Murliganj said his house was burgled last night and demanded protection from the administration.

In the relief camps, the rescued were fighting disease, with Unicef reporting many diarrhoea cases.

The only glimmer of hope seemed to be an official assessment that the situation could improve as the flow of water from Nepal, where the Kosi burst a dam 14 days ago and changed course in downstream Bihar, had come down.

In Delhi, Nepal foreign minister Upendra Yadav brushed aside reports that his country wasn’t co-operating with Indian authorities in helping the flood victims and in plugging the breach on the border with Bihar.

“It is untrue Nepal didn’t co-operate with Indian authorities. Flood is a natural calamity,” he said.

In Nepal, officials said repair work on the dam was under way but turning the Kosi back to its original course would take time.