The stranded villagers of Orissa

Helicopters are being used to drop food parcels

By the BBC's Jill McGivering in Orissa

About seven million people in the eastern Indian state of Orissa have been affected by some of the worst floods the area has ever seen.

Aid agencies say at least a million people are in acute need. But with roads and bridges washed away and many villages totally cut off by the floods, getting aid to the stranded is proving extremely difficult.

We came across some villagers blocking the road in one of the worst affected areas close to the coast.

Many families have had nothing to eat for days now

Bratikin Khander

Soaking wet from the rain, they refused to move until someone promised food for their families marooned in their village, Shantipur.

Bratikin Khander, one of the villagers, told me they were desperate. "We haven't had any relief at all from the government," he said. "No food, no medicines - many families have had nothing to eat for days now, and we don't have enough clean drinking water."

Community in ruins

Their prayers were answered. An army unit set off by speedboat to find the village and hand out a few sacks of food. But when we reached it, we found a community in ruins.

The street is completely inundated. One of the main streets is about three feet deep in water, despite being a raised area. Most of the houses are made of mud and they are already in a state of collapse.

The villagers crowded round, thigh-deep in water, to tell their stories. Himanter Kumar Panda was one of many who has lost everything.

"After several days of heavy rain, the walls of the house just collapsed," he said. "We've had to abandon it. Now we don't have food or shelter and the house has been invaded by snakes. How am I supposed to survive?"

And it isn't only about short-term survival. Most of the villagers are rice farmers and their recently-planted paddy has been washed away. Help will be needed for a long time to come.

Emergency aid

Military helicopters are the only way of getting to the most remote areas. They are now dropping 50 to 60 tonnes of food a day. But it is far from enough and the flying is proving hazardous.

Squadron leader Taran Kumar Singha said: "The entire ground area is submerged. Navigation is difficult, the weather is bad, there are low clouds and it all looks like a vast sea or a big lake."

Families have watched as their rice harvests are submerged

Local volunteers are working round the clock to pack food parcels. They have had plenty of practice. It is less than two years since Orissa was hit by a massive cyclone which killed 10,000 people and devastated whole communities. Many were still rebuilding from the cyclone when the floods came.

"You're talking about an extremely vulnerable situation where people did not even have a full chance to get themselves fully re-established before the next disaster has hit them," said Sasha Buta of the Spanish Red Cross.

"That's why there's such a huge strong impact on people's lives here."

Heavy rain is still forecast. Even when the waters do recede, the troubles may not be over. Cases of water-borne diseases are now being reported and could be fatal in a population which is one of the poorest and weakest in the world.