Heavy rains since Friday have caused widespread flooding across Kathmandu Valley.
KATHMANDU: Search and rescue operations continued in Nepal for the third consecutive day on Monday after more than 200 people were killed in monsoon-triggered floods and landslides. It is one of the worst rain-related disasters in the Himalayan nation in recent years.
Incessant rains over the weekend triggered floods and landslides, wreaking havoc in Kathmandu and most districts of Nepal.
At least 204 people have died due to incessant rains, floods, landslides and inundation in Kathmandu and most districts of Nepal, MyRepublica news portal quoted the Armed Police Force (APF) as saying.
It said 89 other people were also injured in the disaster across the country, while 33 others are missing.
An all-party meeting convened by Acting Prime Minister Prakash Man Singh at the Prime Minister’s Office in Singh Durbar on Sunday decided to enhance rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts during the disaster caused by heavy rains.
The Home Ministry said it would provide grants for construction of temporary housing, repair blocked roads to restore transportation and ensure effective free health treatment for citizens injured in disaster incidents.
A task force was also formed to assess the details of the damage caused within a 15-day time frame, the news portal reported.
The Disaster Management Executive Committee said it would provide relief funds to the families of the missing people. If the missing person is not found within 10 days, their family will be provided the same amount as is given to the family of a person killed in the rain-related disaster, the report said.
The Home Ministry said all security agencies have been deployed for relief efforts following the floods and landslides and personnel of the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have rescued nearly 4,500 disaster-affected persons so far.
The injured are being given free treatment, while others affected by the floods have been provided with food and other emergency relief materials. According to eyewitnesses, hundreds of people in Kathmandu are facing shortage of food, safe drinking water and sanitation following the natural disaster. Market prices have also shot up as the supply of vegetables coming from India and other districts of the country has been temporarily halted due to the blockage of major highways caused by the landslides. Several roads have been badly damaged across the country and all routes leading to the capital Kathmandu are still blocked, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, the Kathmandu Post newspaper reported. Home Ministry spokesman Rishiram Tiwari said efforts are underway to clear the blocked highways to resume transportation. Floods and landslides triggered by incessant rains over the past three days have damaged at least 20 hydropower plants with a combined capacity of 1100 MW, disrupting power supply to Kathmandu and other major cities. “Heavy rains since Friday have caused widespread flooding in the Kathmandu Valley and across Nepal. This is the worst flooding in recent years,” Jagan Chapagain, chief executive officer and secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a post on X. “In response to the crisis, local branches of @NepalRedCross are working closely with authorities and the Emergency Operations Centre of the Nepal Red Cross to coordinate rescue and relief operations,” he added. A report published by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said Kathmandu’s main river Bagmati was flowing above the danger level after incessant rains lashed large parts of eastern and central Nepal on Friday and Saturday. “A low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal and a more northerly than usual position of the monsoon trough were the cause of the exceptionally intense rainfall,” it said on Saturday. Scientists say climate change is causing changes in the amount and timing of rainfall across Asia, but a major cause of the increased impact of flooding is the built environment, including unplanned construction, especially on floodplains, leaving inadequate area for water retention and drainage.
The floods and landslides have disrupted life in many parts of the country, blocking several highways and roadways, submerging or washing away hundreds of houses and bridges, and displacing hundreds of families.
Thousands of travellers are stranded at various places due to road blockages.
It was also decided during the all-party meeting that the Ministry of Health and Population will undertake awareness programmes and other initiatives at potential and suitable locations to prevent the spread of diseases, as epidemics may follow such disasters.
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