Nepal: Death Toll Reaches 112 As Heavy Rains Trigger Floods, Landslides

Nepal Floods: As per Nepal police, main highways have been blocked in 63 locations across the country, while domestic air travel also remains disrupted

Rescue workers are using helicopters and rubber boats to help people stranded on rooftops or elevated ground across the city (Image: PTI)

Source : PTI

Nepal Floods: The death toll due to persistent downpours triggered flooding and landslides across Nepal rose to 112 on Sunday, according to the Nepal Police database. Parts of Nepal have been inundated with rainfall since Thursday, prompting disaster authorities to warn of flash floods. So far, over than 3,000 people have also been rescued from affected areas, while remain remain missing.

As per Nepal police, main highways have been blocked in 63 locations across the country, while domestic air travel also remains disrupted. "Death toll rises to 112 after torrential rainfall-induced landslide and flooding sweeps across the country, dozens missing," ANI reported quoting the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police database.

#WATCH | Bihar | Nepal's Koshi Province CM Hikmat Kumar Karki visits Koshi barrage in Supaul to review the rising water level situation. pic.twitter.com/l7jj61v4PF

— ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2024

Most of the deaths reportedly took place in the Kathmandu valley--Nepal's capital city-- which is home to 4 million people. The flooding in the valley brought traffic and normal activity to a standstill. The situation got worse after rain-triggered landslides blocked highways in 28 places. Authorities are working to clear debris and reopen roads where landslides clocked the traffic, said police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki.

Rescue workers are also using helicopters and rubber boats to help people stranded on rooftops or elevated ground across the city. As per a report by Reuters, some parts of Kathmandu received up to 322.2 mm (12.68 inches) of rain over the last day, leading to swelling of most rivers in the Himalayan nation.

This came as nearly a week's delay in the retreat of South Asia's annual monsoon rains brought torrential downpours across the region. The earliest let-up in the rains might not come until Sunday, Reuters quoted Binu Maharjan, a weather forecasting official in Kathmandu, as saying. Maharjan said a low pressure system over parts of neighbouring India had caused this year's extended rains. "Heavy rains are likely to continue until Sunday morning and weather is likely to clear after that," Maharjan told Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Koshi River in the southeast, which causes deadly floods in India's eastern neighbouring state of Bihar almost every year, was running above the danger level at 450,000 cusecs, versus the normal figure of 150,000 cusecs, one official said. A cusec is a measurement of water flow equivalent to one cubic foot a second.