Severe rains and flooding across India have led to perilous situations for many, with several instances highlighting the challenges faced by families trying to keep their children safe. Harrowing visuals have emerged of people wading through floodwaters, carrying infants to safety.

One such video, which has gone viral, shows a man in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, carrying a baby above his head as he navigates a flooded street. The man is seen wading through murky water, filled with garbage, with a woman following behind. The family slowly made their way through the floodwaters. At one point, the man hands the child over to another man who was waiting in the middle of the flooded street. After passing the baby to safety, the man returned to carry the woman on his back and began swimming. The video also showed houses, temples and vehicles almost fully submerged with piles of garbage floating around as residents wade through the water, carrying essentials to safety. Continuous rainfall has caused the Ganga and Yamuna rivers to rise above the danger mark, inundating entire localities like Chhota Baghada. Streets are waterlogged, homes are partially or fully submerged, and public movement has come to a standstill. The intense waterlogging has even impacted cremation services, with authorities temporarily halting last rites at Rasulabad Ghat.

Another incident from Andhra Pradesh showed two men carrying a baby in a crate through neck-deep floodwaters in Vijayawada. The Singh Nagar area of Vijayawada was particularly affected by the flooding. In this instance, nearly 450,000 people were affected after torrential downpours left at least 20 dead.

In 2022, a video from Telangana showed a man carrying a three-month-old baby in a plastic tub on his head while walking through neck-deep water. The child was wrapped in warm clothes and the man was doing his best to keep the baby safe and dry. The family had been struck in the flooded water and the child was rescued on a plastic tub carried on the head by a rescue worker in throat-deep water in Manthani town in Peddapalli district. A woman, who appeared to be the mother of the baby, was also seen wading through the flood water with the help of another man.

These instances underscore the immense challenges faced by communities during severe flooding and the extraordinary measures people take to protect the most vulnerable.