India, Jan. 3 -- The floods that struck North Bihar in 2024 were not an isolated disaster. They were part of a familiar cycle that continues to shape everyday life in the region. Yet what remains ambiguous is how flood impacts are measured and how this evidence is used for policy. A recent household-level flood loss assessment, conducted by Megh Pyne Abhiyan and supported by Tata Trusts, after the second phase of the 2024 floods, offers important lessons for flood governance in Bihar and other flood-prone regions.

In late September 2024, episodes of very heavy rainfall across North Bihar and the adjoining Nepal region directly and indirectly triggered embankment breaches, elevated river levels, and severe drainage congestion across major...