Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The death toll in the massive flash floods in Nepal has risen to 165, with hundreds of people still missing, including nearly 300 Indian tourists, authorities said on Thursday. The floods on Wednesday caused widespread destruction across three districts in one of the country’s worst disasters in recent years.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), 826 people are missing and 73 have been injured. Rescue and relief operations are under way as the floods have also damaged bridges, roads and transport links in several parts of central Nepal.
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Authorities said the flash floods were caused after an ice avalanche upstream blocked the flow of the Lhende tributary of the Bhotekoshi. The flood first hit Timure, near Nepal’s border with China at Rasuwagadhi, and then appears to have entered the Trishuli River. A preliminary assessment quoted by My Republica said a debris-laden flood occurred in the Lendhe River following an ice-rock landslide at the Nepal-China border, about 20 kilometres northeast of Rasuwagadhi. “The same flood appears to have entered the Trishuli River after passing through Timure,” the NDRRMA said. Disaster expert Basanta Raj Adhikari also said an ice avalanche in the Lendhe River, about 20 kilometres upstream of Rasuwagadhi, had blocked the river and caused the flooding.
Nepal Police said three more bodies were recovered from Nawalparasi West, taking the death toll to 165. The district-wise toll stands at two in Rasuwa, 12 in Nuakot, 27 in Dhading, 64 in Chitawan, 20 in Gorkha, nine in Tanhu, 26 in Nawalparasi East and five in Nawalparasi West. Of the 73 injured, 43 are from Rasuwa, 27 from Nuwakot and three from Dhading. They are being treated at different hospitals, including Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu. The NDRRMA said 123 stranded people were rescued from the Timure area of Rasuwa, including 94 Nepalis and 29 foreigners.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said nearly 300 Indian tourists were among thousands of people reportedly missing in the flash floods. He also confirmed that more than 160 people had died and thousands remained untraced after the tragedy in the Rasuwa region. “Thousands of families have lost homes and are missing as of now. We are still trying to ascertain the full extent of the disaster,” Khanal said. Officials said 579 tourists, including foreigners, are missing, most of them en route to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet and Gosainkuknda in Bagmati Province, Nepal. Authorities also said 44 Nepal Army personnel, 28 Nepal Police personnel and 13 Armed Police Force personnel had lost contact with the centre, while 162 people working at different hydropower and customs offices were also missing.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Thursday visited Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot district to inspect the flood-hit areas. Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamshal accompanied him, according to the Prime Minister’s office. The team travelled by road from Kathmandu to Bidur, one of the areas worst affected by the floods. Officials said Shah had been actively overseeing rescue and relief efforts since floodwaters from the Bhotekoshi River caused widespread damage in riverside settlements on Wednesday.
The floods have damaged 35 motorable bridges, 45 suspension bridges and 40 km of black-topped road, mainly in central Nepal. In some places, mud and rocks have blocked roads, while in others transport has been stopped because of flood risks. A section of the national highway from Nagdhunga in Kathmandu to Mugling has been shut indefinitely. Transport services have also been halted on the Mechi Highway in Ilam district, the BP Highway in Kavre, the Kanti Lokpath in Makwanpur, the national highways of Rasuwa and Nuwakot, the Prithvi Highway in Dhading, and road links connecting Chitwan and the Jajarkot-Dolpa section in Rukum West. As Nepal continues rescue efforts, the scale of the disaster is still being assessed, with the toll from the floods and the number of missing people remaining high.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
