Nepal Floods Toll Climbs To 101, At Least 64 Missing With Rescue Operations Underway

Kathmandu: Low-lying neighbourhoods in Kathmandu were inundated by surging floodwaters on Sunday. The incessant rain killed at least 101 people in the country, reports claimed.

Flash floods had been affecting large swathes of eastern and central Nepal since Friday, triggering floods in several rivers and causing extensive damage to the highways.

“The death count has reached 101, and 64 people are missing,” police spokesperson, Dan Bahadur Karki, said as quoted by AFP. He added that the death toll could increase. Rescue mission is underway.

Record rainfall in 24 hours

The Kathmandu valley recorded 240 millimetres (9.4 inches) of rain in 24 hours from Saturday morning, the country’s weather bureau reportedly told local newspapers.

It was the highest rainfall recorded in the capital since at least 1970, the report said.

The Bagmati river and its numerous tributaries broke embankments, inundating nearby properties and vehicles.

3,300 people rescued till Sunday morning

Till the last reports came in on Sunday morning, nearly 3,300 people were rescued by relief teams. More than 3,000 security personnel were deployed to assist rescue efforts. Helicopters and motorboats were roped in to aid the rescue mission.

Rescue teams were using rafts to pull survivors to safety, reported the AFP.

Hundreds stranded on highways

After landslides blocked several highways connecting Kathmandu to the rest of Nepal, hundreds of travellers were left stranded. At least eight locations have been blocked due to landslides in different sections of the road. Inclement weather had forced a complete stoppage of flight operations since Friday evening, with more than 150 departures cancelled. But, according to reports, the services have resumed.

‘Climate change a worry’

The summer monsoon brings South Asia 70-80% of its annual rain, claimed an AFP report. Monsoon rains from June to September bring widespread death and destruction every year across South Asia. But, experts claimed that climate change have worsened their frequency and intensity. More than 260 people died in Nepal in rain-related disasters this year.