Patna, Aug 1 - At least one woman was drowned as nearly 200 villages were flooded in Bihar's Sitamarhi district after the Bagmati river breached its embankment early Saturday, officials said. Many villages in the state's Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga districts were also inundated.

The swollen river breached a nearly 50 ft stretch of the embankment at Tilakrajpur under Runnisaidpur block in Sitamarhi, inundating several villages and affecting up to 20,000 people.

Thousands of people left their homes and moved to higher ground for safety, officials said.

'More villages are likely to be flooded,' a district official said.

At least half a dozen people were feared drowned but district officials only confirmed that a woman had been killed.

The state government has asked the local administration to start rescue and relief operations, officials said.

Till Friday, the district administration and engineers had claimed that there was no threat to the embankment by the rising level of water in the Bagmati river. According to official sources, the embankment was repaired and strengthened only last year.

However, villagers said that they had informed the officials about a six-inch wide hole in the embankment. But no move was initiated to repair it, they alleged.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered a probe and promised stern action against officials responsible.