NEPAL. – At least 27 people have died and four are missing after days of heavy rain across various parts of Nepal have caused flooding, landslides, avalanches and serious damage to roads and other infrastructure. The heavy rain has affected large parts of the country since 24 September, with hundreds of incidents reported.
According to the latest figures from Nepalese authorities, 27 people have died in rain-related incidents over the past few days, while four people remain missing and eight are injured. The latest report places the number of incidents at 542. Search and rescue teams are still operating in various areas, while residents in some higher-risk areas have been evacuated.
According to Nepalese police, heavy rain, landslides, flooding and road collapses have disrupted roads and mountain routes in many districts. Several major routes have been partially or completely closed, while people have been advised to avoid unnecessary travel on dangerous roads.
In the Mustang district, a section of a mountainside collapsed into the Kaligandaki river. The ongoing rain has also disrupted roads and other important connections in mountainous areas. An avalanche at the Himlung Himal base camp claimed four lives, while rescue teams search for missing people.
The latest disaster strikes Nepal while the country is still recovering from a much larger natural disaster in August. A devastating flood in the Bhote Koshi river in the Rasuwa district affected large parts of the north of the country. By September, more than 1 400 deaths were linked to that separate disaster, while thousands of people remained reported as missing or unreachable. The Nepalese government's latest figures place the death toll at 1 451, with 5 786 people still reported as missing.
The latest rain also comes at the beginning of Nepal's tourism season, which is being largely affected by the damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Rescue work and efforts to restore road connections are continuing while further heavy rain continues to pose a risk in parts of the country.
Sources: Rising Nepal Daily, Radio Nepal Online, AP News, Mofnepal, Al Jazeera
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
