The death toll from rain-triggered floods and landslides in Nepal rose to 125 on Sunday, police said.
Heavy flooding in eastern and central Nepal has been inundating since Friday, with flash floods reported in some parts of the country.
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According to armed police sources, 64 people were lost in floods, landslides and water erosion, while 61 were injured.
Kathmandu Valley reported the highest number of deaths.
At least 322 houses and 16 bridges were destroyed. Guards have rescued nearly 3,626 people, police sources said.
Sources added that rescue operations are still underway.
Eyewitnesses say that they have never seen such a destructive flood and overflow of water in Kathmandu valley in 40-45 years.
The number of dead has reached 125, the police force said in a statement.
At least 19 people died on Saturday when a bus was buried in a landslide in Dhading district on the border with Kathmandu. Five people were killed when a house collapsed under a landslide in Bhaktapur town.
Six football players were also killed in a landslide at a training center run by the All Nepal Football Association in Makwanpur. Some have been washed away.
Despite the forecast that the rain will continue until Tuesday but there were signs that it will decrease on Sunday.
I have never seen floods like this in Kathmandu, said Arun Bhakta Shrestha, an expert in Climate and Environment at the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
Kathmandu’s main river, the Bagmati, was flowing above the danger level after incessant rains lashed much of eastern and central Nepal on Friday and Saturday, a report published by ICIMOD said.
A low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal and a more northerly than usual location of the cyclone trough are responsible for Saturday’s exceptionally heavy rain, it said.
Scientists say that although climate change is changing the amount and timing of rainfall across Asia, a key reason for the increase in the impact of floods is the built environment, including unplanned construction, especially in floodplains, leaving insufficient areas to store and drain water. .
Floods and landslides have destroyed life in many parts of the country, many roads and streets were disrupted, hundreds of houses and bridges were buried or washed away, and hundreds of families were left homeless.
Thousands of commuters have been left stranded in different areas due to road disruptions.
(Only the headline and image for this report may have been reused by Business Standard staff; other content is automatically generated from the trade feed.)
First published: Sep 29 2024 | 4:42 PM IST