Patna: The Gandak river continued to cause damage on Friday with floodwaters sweeping away a small bridge on the Patjirwa-Bettiah main road in West Champaran district and entering new areas in downstream Saran, where breaches in the Saran embankment had worsened flooding.Amid the worsening situation, two IAF choppers airdropped more than 5,000 dry ration packets in Saran, the disaster management department said. Another 40,000 ration packets were being sent to Saran from Patna (10,000), Siwan (15,000), Bhojpur (5,000), Buxar (5,000) and Vaishali (5,000).Five NDRF and three SDRF teams were deployed in Saran, while eight NDRF teams were rushed from Bettiah, Gopalganj, Bhagalpur and Supaul and four SDRF teams from Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur and East Champaran. The NDRF teams have 140 personnel and 36 boats. Around 2,000 marooned people and cattle had been rescued by the afternoon. 19 NDRF and SDRF teams were conducting rescue and relief operations.The flood situation has also been improving in East Champaran, where the Gandak water level in Areraj, Sangrampur and Kesariya blocks has fallen by about four feet. Over 44,000 people were affected in the three blocks, with 3,500 evacuated. Community kitchens are operating at locations to provide cooked food and drinking water to flood-affected people.The Gandak fury has not relented in West Champaran, where a small bridge and a 20-foot stretch of the Patjirwa-Bettiah road near Patjirwa in Bairia block were swept away. “The commuters have been asked not to travel on the damaged portion. The warning signs have also been put on display,” Bairia block development officer Puja Kumari said.The water resources department said floodwaters were gushing through the breached Saran embankment and spreading across Panapur, Karchaulia, Amnaur, Jagdishpur, Maker and Parsa blocks. However, the waters are expected to spread over 22,617 hectares in Saran. Though the Gandak level has fallen 71cm below HFL at Rewaghat and 32cm at Lalganj, it still remains above the danger level.(With inputs from C B Pandey in Motihari)