Nepal Surveys Flood Wreckage as Death Toll Reaches 200

AFP/APP

Kathmandu: Search and rescue teams in Nepal’s capital have begun assessing the damage from monsoon floods that have killed at least 200 people across the Himalayan republic. As the waters receded, the aftermath of the disaster became clearer.

Deadly floods and landslides are common across South Asia during the monsoon season from June to September; however, experts warn that climate change is exacerbating these events. Entire neighborhoods in Kathmandu were inundated after the heaviest rains in over two decades, temporarily isolating the capital as landslides blocked highways.

According to the latest figures provided by home ministry spokesman Rishi Ram Tiwari, the death toll stands at 200, with 127 people injured and 26 still missing. Police reported that at least 35 of the deceased were buried alive when a landslide struck vehicles on a highway south of Kathmandu.

Bulldozers have been deployed to clear nearly two dozen blocked major roads leading into Kathmandu. The home ministry is actively working to rescue people stranded on these highways. Rescuers, equipped with knee-high rubber boots and shovels, are clearing mud from the worst-hit riverside neighborhoods around Kathmandu, many of which are unauthorized slum settlements.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a Nepal-based think tank, indicated that unplanned urban encroachment around the Bagmati River has exacerbated the disaster. Nepal’s army reported that over 4,000 people have been rescued, utilizing helicopters, motorboats, and rafts to bring stranded individuals to safety.

Nilkantha Pandey from the humanitarian organization CARE Nepal highlighted the urgent need for safe drinking water and temporary housing for the affected populations. “Mostly informal settlements have been affected,” Pandey noted, emphasizing the need for a prompt response.

Merchants in Kathmandu are reporting significant disruptions to the supply of fresh fruits and vegetables due to damage to intercity roads. “The farmers have their produce ready, but with the highways blocked, all of it is stuck,” said Binay Shrestha, who works at one of the city’s main produce markets.

Nepal’s weather bureau stated that preliminary data indicated record-breaking rain within the 24 hours leading up to Saturday morning. A monitoring station at Kathmandu airport recorded about 240 millimeters (9.4 inches) of rain, the highest amount since 2002.

Climate expert Arun Bhakta Shrestha of ICIMOD described the rainfall as “abnormal” and an “extreme event,” suggesting the potential influence of climate change. However, he also noted that unplanned urban development has heightened the disaster’s impact.

The summer monsoon from July to September typically brings 70-80 percent of South Asia’s annual rainfall, crucial for agriculture and food production in a region with approximately two billion inhabitants. Nonetheless, the monsoon also results in widespread death and destruction through floods and landslides, with experts asserting that climate change has increased their frequency and intensity.

This year alone, more than 300 individuals have died in rain-related disasters in Nepal.