In Nepal, landslides caused by heavy rainfall result in 11 fatalities and 8 missing
At least 11 people have died in Nepal in the last 36 hours as a result of landslides and flash floods caused by heavy rains, which have also blocked important highways and roads, officials said on Sunday.
According to police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki, 12 people were hurt and receiving medical attention in hospitals, while eight individuals were reported missing, either swept away by floods or buried in landslides.
Karki told Reuters, “Rescue workers are trying to clear the landslides and open the roads,” and that debris was being cleared using heavy machinery.
The Koshi River in southeast Nepal was flowing over the danger level, according to a district official. The river often causes fatal floods in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.
A senior official of the Sunsari district, where the river flows, Bed Raj Phuyal told Reuters, “The flow of Koshi is rising and we have asked residents to remain alert about possible floods.”
According to him, the Koshi River was flowing at a rate of 369,000 cusecs per second at 0900 hours (0315 GMT), which is more than twice the average flow of 150,000 cusecs.
One cubic foot per second is equal to one cusec, which is the unit of measurement used to measure water flow.
According to authorities, all 56 of the Koshi Barrage’s sluice gates have been opened to let out water, as opposed to roughly 10–12 in a typical scenario.
According to authorities, the western rivers Narayani, Rapti, and Mahakali were all experiencing an increase in flow.
Several rivers in Kathmandu’s hilly surroundings have overflowed, flooding roads and submerging numerous homes.
Images in the local media showed individuals emptying their homes with buckets or wading through waist-deep water.
Since the beginning of the yearly monsoon rains in mid-June, at least 50 people have perished in landslides, floods, and lightning strikes around Nepal.
In Nepal, which is primarily mountainous, landslides and flash floods during the monsoon season—which typically begins in mid-June and lasts until mid-September—cause hundreds of deaths each year.
Over the past few days, flooding in the northeastern Indian state of Assam have caused thousands of people to be displaced and dozens of deaths.
