Heavy rain caused havoc.
The death toll from rain-triggered floods and landslides in Nepal rose to 170 on Sunday, with 42 missing. Large parts of eastern and central Nepal have been inundated since Friday and flash floods have hit many parts of the country, officials said. According to the police, 170 people have died so far due to floods and landslides in Nepal. Alert has been issued in 56 districts.
According to officials of the Ministry of Interior, 42 people are missing due to floods and landslides. Spokesperson Rishiram Pokharal said that 111 people have been injured in flood-related incidents. Pokharal said that search and rescue operation is going on with the help of all security agencies. He said that the Nepalese army has airlifted 162 people stranded across the country.
Nepalese army rescued 4 thousand people
Pokharal said that personnel of the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Forces have rescued around 4,000 people affected by floods and inundation. He said that all the necessary relief materials including food have been distributed to the rescued people. The spokesman said that food was distributed to 400 people with the help of social workers in the Balkho area on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
Highway closed for two days
He said that national highways have been closed since Saturday due to landslides and hundreds of people are stranded on various highways. Pokharal said that efforts are being made to open the national highways closed due to floods, landslides and water logging. He said that traffic has resumed on Tribhuvan Highway, the main land route connecting Kathmandu to other districts.
322 houses and 16 bridges were damaged
According to officials, at least 322 houses and 16 bridges have been damaged due to floods in Nepal. Eyewitnesses said that they had not seen such a devastating flood and water accumulation in Kathmandu Valley in 40-45 years. Arun Bhakta Shrestha, a meteorologist and ecologist at the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), said he had never seen floods on this scale in Kathmandu before.
Stormy rains in Nepal
A report published by ICMOD on Saturday said the Bagmati, the main river in Kathmandu, is flowing above the danger mark following heavy rains in eastern and central Nepal on Friday and Saturday. It said that the low pressure situation over the Bay of Bengal and the Monsoon caused unusually heavy rainfall on Saturday.
Scientists say that due to climate change, the amount and timing of rainfall is changing across Asia, but human activities such as unplanned construction are a major reason for the increased impact of floods. Due to floods and landslides, life has been disrupted in many parts of the country. Many highways and roads were disrupted, hundreds of houses and bridges were damaged and hundreds of families were displaced.
Thousands of passengers are stranded at various places due to blocked roads. At least 19 people were killed when a bus was hit by a landslide in Dhading district, bordering Kathmandu, on Saturday, officials said. Five people were killed in a landslide in Bhaktapur city.
Six football players lost their lives and others were swept away by floodwaters in a landslide at a training center run by the All India Nepal Association in Mukwanpur. Meanwhile, there was some relief on Sunday despite the forecast of rain continuing till Tuesday.
