Floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains in Nepal have killed at least 192 people, according to a new report released Monday, September 30, by authorities. The capital, Kathmandu, is especially affected.
Large areas of the east and center of this Himalayan country have been under water since Friday, as well as entire neighborhoods of Kathmandu. The roads connecting the capital with the rest of the country are damaged.
“31 people are still missing”Interior Ministry spokesman Rishi Ram Tiwari told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “Our priority is search and rescue, including people who are stranded on the roads”he added.
At least thirty-five of the victims were buried alive aboard three vehicles when a landslide covered a road south of Kathmandu, police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki told AFP.
For its part, the Nepalese army announced that it had carried out more than four thousand evacuations, particularly with helicopters, motor boats and lifeboats. Bulldozers and other excavation machines were used to clear the roads.
The paralysis of the road network caused the first shortage of vegetables in the capital, whose prices increased significantly. “Normally we receive between 600 and 700 tons of vegetables every day, yesterday we only received 156 tons”testified Binay Shrestha, a wholesaler in one of Kathmandu’s main markets. “Production is available but is blocked by the state of the roads”he added.
Resumption of domestic flights departing and arriving at Kathmandu
According to provisional data from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, stations in 14 districts had measured record rainfall in the twenty-four hours leading up to Saturday morning. A station at Kathmandu airport recorded 240 millimeters of rain, the highest level since 2002, he said.
Domestic flights resumed on Sunday morning to and from the Nepalese capital, after being completely suspended since Friday night. More than one hundred and fifty departures were cancelled.
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Record
The June to September monsoons cause death and destruction across South Asia each year, but the number of deadly floods and landslides has increased in recent years.
Scientists say climate change has worsened in frequency and intensity.
