India, Feb. 11 -- Madhya Pradesh hardest-hit; figures show gross underestimation of crop losses due to floods

India has suffered a huge crop loss on 18.176 million hectares (mha) of land, roughly 8.5 per cent of the total gross cropped area due to floods from 2017-2019, according to data shared by the government in the Lok Sabha February 11, 2021.

Of this, 10.68 mha was affected in 2019 alone. In 2018 and 2017, 2.515 mha and 4.973 mha of cropped area was lost in India. The intensity of extreme floods has increased in the country, affecting newer areas that were not flood-prone earlier.

The flood-prone states of Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh saw extreme floods. They were also witnessed in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, ...