On 18 August 2008, a dike of the river Kosi in Nepal has broken leading the Kosi back to its ancient bed by this flooding thousands of villages in the countryside of Nepal and Bihar/India. The floods surprised the people during the night, so that there was little time to escape. Many people could only save themselves by climbing on trees and buildings. Over 1,000 villages have been severly damaged or completely destroyed by the water, at least 300,000 houses are reported to be damages or destroyed. Up to 3 million people are directly affected by the floods, many of them camping in make shift emergency camps along the side of the river.
It is expected, that people will be confronted with a situation of more or less permanent flooding for the next 3 to 6 months. Repair of the dike can only begin after the water level has turned low, which will probably not be the case before November 2008.