At least 21 killed in Nepal after monsoon rains trigger floods, landslides

World Saturday 13/July/2019 13:09 PM
By: Times News Service
At least 21 killed in Nepal after monsoon rains trigger floods, landslides

Kathmandu: At least 21 people have been killed and 10 injured after torrential monsoon rains spread across Nepal, triggering landslides and floods, officials said Saturday.

Ten others are missing, police said.

“We are searching for the missing. Some 50 people have been rescued from different areas [of the country],” they said in a statement.

Heavy monsoon rains over the last three days have triggered landslides and floods, causing inundation, death and devastation in the country’s central and eastern regions.

In the capital, Kathmandu, emergency workers rescued dozens of people in inflatable boats after their homes were inundated by an overflowing river. Three migrant workers were killed Friday when a brick wall collapsed after rain on the city’s eastern outskirts.

The country’s disaster management agency said Friday that helicopters were on standby to airlift people affected by the floods and landslides, which have blocked several highways across the country, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.

Twenty-one districts have been badly affected by the flash floods and landslides, according to the data made public by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday evening.

Around 435 households with 1,175 individuals have been displaced due to the flash floods and landslides, according to the ministry.

On Friday evening, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli convened a meeting with cabinet ministers, secretaries and chiefs of security agencies to discuss the situation following flash floods and landslides.
The Meteorological Forecasting Division under Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said that Nepal's capital city Kathmandu and other areas had seen an increase in monsoon activity resulting in heavy rainfall, .

Major highways including the East-West Highway were blocked due to flood-related incidents, local media reported.