The death toll from the floods climbed to 367 with 26 more bodies being recovered and the number of affected districts rose to 21 as water from the Gandak river entered Siwan on Wednesday.
The number of flood-hit people is now 15.8 million, of which 7,76,000 have been evacuated to safer places.
"The water level is receding and bodies of those who went missing are being recovered," said joint secretary, disaster management department, Anirudh Kumar. "Most deaths happened in the first three days (from August 12).
"The number of relief camps has gone down to 696 from its peak at 1,358," he added. "The government is running 1,646 community kitchens."
The Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Adhwara, Khirol and Ghagra rivers were flowing above the danger level at several places. Water resources department engineers were camping in Gopalganj to protect the Gandak embankment.
The situation was becombetter in the Seemanchal region. "The water will flow down to the Ganga and Kosi rivers, leading to rise in their levels," warned a water resources department official. "The Ganga is already flowing 3cm below the danger level at Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur."
Chief minister Nitish Kumar continued his Seemanchal road visit, touring areas in Kishanganj, Araria and Katihar districts and assured flood victims of all possible help. "We will take steps to ensure that such disaster is not repeated," he said. "We will have to find out methods for water drainage, and will have to keep them in mind while making development plans."
He said Seemanchal saw 600mm of rainfall in just two days - the kind of rainfall that happens in a year. Nitish said he realised on August 13 that the floods would be severe and spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the state did not have enough resources to tackle the situation. Senior IAS officer Sudhir Kumar has been appointed special commissioner to expedite relief.
Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the government will provide flood compensation under 10 heads including crops, cattle, huts and houses. "We will provide Rs 6,800 per hectare as compensation for rain-fed crops and Rs 13,500 per hectare for irrigated crops," he said.
Third birth on boat
Another baby was born onboard a national disaster response force (NDRF) boat in East Champaran district on Wednesday. The woman, Manisha Devi, was being evacuated from Patjilwa village. The state government will pay Rs 15,000 for a girl child and Rs 10,000 for a male child born during rescue operations or in relief camps. The first baby born on an NDRF rescue boat in Bihar this year has been named Sailabi by her parents.
