27 killed across Nepal due to rain-induced disasters in last few days: Authorities
KATHMANDU: At least 27 people have been killed in rain-induced disasters across Nepal since September 24, officials said on Tuesday.
Four people remain missing and eight have been injured in incidents linked to heavy rainfall, including according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).
Twenty people were killed in landslides, four in floods and three in incidents related to heavy rainfall since September 24, the authority said.
The disasters affected 1,082 families and killed 114 livestock. They also completely destroyed 227 houses and partially damaged 142 others, partially damaged 142 others, while floods and landslides damaged 31 bridges.
According to the NDRRMA, 542 rain-induced disaster incidents were reported between September 24 and Sunday.
More than 100 mm of rain was recorded at 186 rainfall measurement stations across the country over the four-day period through September 27, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.The highest rainfall was recorded at Dedhgaun in Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta East) at 544.2 mm, followed by 500.2 mm at Panchase in Kaski and 472 mm at Atraulitaar in Tanahun.
The heavy rainfall was associated with a low-pressure area near Uttar Pradesh in northern India and moisture-laden winds from the Bay of Bengal, according to the weather authorities.
The NDRRMA, through telecom service providers, sent flood-warning SMS alerts to more than 980,000 people.Security personnel from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Nepali Army were deployed for search, rescue and relief operations.
Seventy-eight people at risk in Pauddhar of Annapurna Rural Municipality-5 in Myagdi were rescued by helicopter and taken to a safe place on September 27, Mahat said. Four people stranded on an island in the Bheri River in Jajarkot were also airlifted.
Heavy rainfall triggered landslides in Chame, Manang, on the afternoon of September 27, with flood and landslide debris from Ghatte Khola partially blocking the Marsyangdi River and causing the two waterways toand form a lake, according to local media reports.
Residents in Chame and surrounding areas fled to forests, caves and other safer locations as the river rose. By Monday, the water level in the lake had fallen by about a metre and a bridge that had been submerged began to reappear, according to local media reports.The latest landslides and floods come as Nepal is still recovering from last month’s devastating flash floods originating near the Nepal-Tibet border.
The Bhotekoshi River, flowing south from the Himalayan border region, carried floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects on August 26, killing more than 1,450 people, while around 5,000 remain missing.