Kathmandu: Incessant rains in Nepal have triggered devastating floods and landslides, resulting in at least 10 fatalities and leaving seven people missing in the past 24 hours. The heavy downpours have disrupted transportation across the region, prompting officials to act swiftly to address the crisis.
Authorities report that rivers throughout the Himalayan nation have swelled dangerously, overflowing roads and bridges due to the delayed retreat of South Asia’s annual monsoon rains, which have unleashed torrential downpours across the area for nearly a week. Police are actively clearing debris and reopening blocked highways, which have been affected at 28 locations, according to police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki.
Meteorologists have indicated that the earliest relief from the rains may not arrive until Sunday. Binu Maharjan, a weather forecasting official in Kathmandu, attributed the prolonged rainfall to a low-pressure system affecting parts of neighboring India. “Heavy rains are likely to continue until Sunday morning, and weather is expected to clear afterward,” Maharjan stated.
Central and eastern regions have experienced varying levels of rainfall, ranging from 50 mm (2 inches) to over 200 mm (8 inches), while other areas have seen moderate rainfall. International flights remain operational; however, numerous domestic flights have faced disruptions, reported Rinji Sherpa, a spokesperson for Kathmandu airport.
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In the capital, which is surrounded by hills, roads and homes have been inundated due to rivers overflowing with over 200 mm (8 inches) of rain. The Koshi River in southeastern Nepal, notorious for causing deadly floods in India’s Bihar state, is currently flowing at a dangerous level of 450,000 cusecs, compared to the normal flow of 150,000 cusecs. Ram Chandra Tiwari, the top bureaucrat in the region, noted that the river level continues to rise.
Each year, the monsoon season in Nepal claims hundreds of lives due to landslides and flash floods, which are frequent in this mountainous nation.
