Nepal floods: 241 killed, 4,000 rescued, thousands remain stranded

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday said that more than 4,000 people were rescued in the rain-induced floods and landslides that have claimed 241 lives so far and wreaked havoc in the Himalayan country.

Admitting that there was a delay on the part of the government while carrying out search and rescue operations, Oli, during a press conference at Singha Durbar, urged one and all to support the government's efforts for relief and rehabilitation works.

He said that the authorities have rescued 4,331 people across the country from the flooding disaster.

The prime minister expressed his commitment to correct shortcomings in the rescue and search operations due to the unimaginable disaster that hit the country on Saturday after 48 hours of incessant rain.

Chief Secretary Eaknarayan Aryal informed that the country suffered around Rs 17 billion loss due to the devastating landslide and flood that claimed 241 lives. At least 29 people were missing and 126 suffered injuries, he said.

Nearly 900 people, including foreign trekkers, have been rescued by helicopters from different flood-hit areas in the last two days, Home Ministry spokesperson Rishiram Tiwari said, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

The spokesperson said that Nepal Army choppers rescued 683 people—425 people on Sunday and 258 on Monday. “The rescue is ongoing,” he said.

“Apart from disaster response conducted by the Nepal Army, private choppers have also been rescuing stranded foreigners, particularly in the mountain region,” he added.

The exact number of rescues conducted by private choppers is unknown, but operators said roughly 200 foreign trekkers and a few Nepalis have been evacuated in the last two days.

The disaster, which began on Thursday, continued to cause widespread destruction in multiple provinces until Sunday, leaving thousands displaced. Large swathes of eastern and central Nepal have been inundated since Friday.

However, the weather improved from Sunday in Kathmandu providing some relief to the disaster-affected people.

Incessant rain from Thursday to Saturday created havoc across Nepal.

The Kathmandu Valley suffered the most where the death toll crossed 50. More than 20,000 security personnel, including from the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, have been deployed for all-out efforts of search, rescue and relief distribution.

Those injured are receiving treatment at various health facilities, Home Ministry spokesperson Rishiram Tiwari said.

Similarly, those affected by the floods and landslides are provided with instant relief materials.

The government has given priority to search, rescue and relief distribution. The efforts to resume the blocked roadways are currently underway, Tiwari added.

Scientists say that while climate change is changing the amount and timing of rainfall across Asia, a key reason for the rise in the impact of floods is the built environment, including unplanned construction, especially on floodplains, which leaves insufficient areas for water retention and drainage.

The floods and landslides have thrown life out of gear in many parts of the country, with many highways and road stretches disrupted, hundreds of houses and bridges buried or swept away, and hundreds of families displaced.

Thousands of passengers have been stranded in various places due to road disruption.