At least 49 people have died and scores of others are missing in Nepal due to severe floods and landslides triggered by late monsoon rains, authorities said.
According to Nepal police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki, at least 36 people remain missing across various regions of the Himalayan nation since late Friday.
He said a total of 34 have been injured. “We have rescued 1,053 people affected by floods and landslides to safety in the Kathmandu Valley, but we are still awaiting data from the rest of the country,” Karki told dpa.
Senior officials held an emergency meeting on Saturday to assess the situation and intensify search, rescue, and rehabilitation efforts.
The rains, which began Thursday, have wreaked havoc on infrastructure, damaging roads and bridges and disrupting domestic flights. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has suspended several domestic flights due to rain and low visibility. Vehicular movement on key highways is being halted at night due to the risk of landslides.
In Kathmandu, swollen rivers have inundated thousands of homes, and major roads leading to the capital remain blocked by landslides. Authorities have predicted further rainfall this week, prompting flood alerts for communities near major rivers.
Water levels in the Koshi and Gandak rivers are exceeding danger levels, posing a significant risk of flooding and severe damage in Nepal and the neighbouring Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, a recurring issue each year.
Nepal’s mountainous terrain and numerous rivers make the country particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.
