The death toll from rain-triggered floods and landslides in Nepal rose to nearly 200 on Monday, while at least 30 people are still missing.
Police gave this information. Continuous rains since last Friday have caused floods and landslides, wreaking havoc in the Himalayan nation. Nepal Police officials said that at least 192 people have died due to continuous rains, floods, landslides and waterlogging. They said that 94 other people have also been injured across the country in this disaster, while 30 others are missing.
The My Republica news portal quoted Home Ministry spokesperson Rishiram Tiwari as saying that the government has given high priority to search, rescue and relief operations. Security agencies have been deployed across the country for search, rescue and relief efforts and so far more than 4,500 disaster-affected persons have been rescued, the report said. The injured are being treated free of cost and others affected by the floods have been provided with food and other emergency relief materials.
Many roads across the country have been badly damaged and all routes leading to the capital Kathmandu are still blocked, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, the Kathmandu Post newspaper reported. Home Ministry spokesman Tiwari said efforts were underway to clear the blocked highways to restore traffic.
Kathmandu’s main river, Bagmati, was flowing above the danger level following continuous rains in large parts of eastern and central Nepal on Friday and Saturday, a report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said.
The report on Saturday said that the reason for the unusually intense rains was the low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal and the above normal position of the ‘monsoon trough’ in the north. The ‘monsoon trough’ is a low-pressure area extending from the lower part of Pakistan to the Bay of Bengal. Due to this, abnormal rainfall can occur in the east-west part of the Himalayan range and the north-south part of the Khasi-Jaintia Hills.
Scientists say climate change is changing the amount and timing of rainfall across Asia and is a major factor in the increase in the impact of floods. Floods and landslides have disrupted life in many parts of the country. Many highways and roads have been blocked, hundreds of houses and bridges have collapsed or been washed away and hundreds of families have been displaced. Thousands of passengers are stranded at various places due to road blockage.
