Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Water levels in Nepal’s Bhotekoshi River rose again on Sunday, days after a devastating flash flood hit the area, prompting authorities to warn search and rescue teams in the affected districts to stay alert. The death toll from the disaster has climbed to nearly 700, while nearly 2,400 people are still missing, according to officials.
The river, which flows south from the Himalayan border region, had sent huge volumes of water downstream into central Nepal during flash floods on Wednesday. Bodies are still being recovered as search and rescue operations continue amid renewed rainfall and rising water levels.
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“The water level in the flooded Bhotekoshi river has risen to some extent; all concerned are urged to take precautionary measures,” the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said in a statement. It asked those involved in search and rescue operations, and others in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Chitwan districts, to remain alert. The authority said it would issue further updates after receiving more information.
More than 15,000 security personnel have been deployed for search and rescue work, while helicopters have been making repeated sorties to evacuate stranded people and deliver relief supplies. The flash floods swept through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river corridors, damaging roads, bridges, settlements and hydropower infrastructure. At the Trishuli hydropower project site, Nepalese security personnel, with the help of Indian tunnel experts, continued efforts to evacuate those trapped by locating the tunnel entrance even after midnight on Saturday, despite heavy rain through the night, Nepal Army sources said.
The NDRRMA said 242 injured people had been admitted to hospitals, including Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital and Bir Hospital in Kathmandu, and Rasuwa District Hospital in Dhunche, till Saturday evening. Of them, 135 have been discharged, 29 referred to other specialised medical facilities, and 75 are undergoing treatment. The disaster is believed to have been triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border, sending a huge torrent of water, mud and debris through central Nepal and devastating towns and villages, while sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
