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September 1, 2008
Posted: 1714 GMT
My skin is on fire. This is by far the hottest day since we began our coverage of Bihar state’s worst floods in 50 years.I’m in Bihar’s Purnia district. The situation is bad here. It’s hard to breath. The stifling heat and humidity is bad and being made worse as villagers gather around us. 
A flooded home in the Poornia district.
 They are becoming angry. They are swarming us with stories about relatives that have been left behind. Their anger and frustration is understandable. It’s been 11 days since the floods hit their villages and still thousands of people are waiting to be saved. The Indian Navy has arrived. We were supposed to leave with them three hours ago but we’re still here. Inner tube type boats are being blown up with foot pumps. It is a slow process. I’m a bit surprised by the crudeness of the boats and gear they have with them. But if they have the heart for it I guess that is all that matters. And they do. On land the crowd is getting larger and more agitated. We really need to go. I can feel the tension and see the fierce look in people’s eyes. They are desperate and frankly I would be too if my family was stranded without food and water only a few kilometers away but I couldn’t get to them. The Navy officer in charge of the mission is trying to calm people down. He listens to a man screaming about dead bodies and tells him the Navy is here to save the living not fish out the dead. It’s harsh but true. We are in the boat now. It’s miles before we start to see signs of life. But then, they appear — a long line of waterlogged people. Two of the 12 Navy boats stop to begin the rescue. I’m on one of those boats. I suddenly feel a pang of guilt. Should I be here? I am taking up a spot. Am I keeping one less person from getting to safe shores? The answer is yes. It’s a question I should have considered earlier. We were invited to go on this mission, but that doesn’t mean I was right to accept. I don’t have time to think about this now. People are calling to us. They have waded out to chest deep water with their babies and clothes on their shoulders. A woman and her five children make it into the boat. She suddenly grabs my hand tight and cries thanking me. I touch her face and try to smile. She holds my hand the whole way back to shore. She is scared. She can’t swim and doesn’t trust the boat. This is awful. When will it end for these poor people? Posted by: CNN Correspondent, Sara Sidner
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