Rescuers in Nepal recovered dozens of bodies from buses and other vehicles that were buried in landslides near the capital Kathmandu, as the death toll from the floods rose to at least 129 and dozens missing, officials said on Thursday. Sunday. The weather improved on Sunday after three days of monsoon rains and rescue and clean-up efforts were underway. Kathmandu remained isolated on Sunday as three roads leading out of the city were blocked by landslides. Several bridges were washed away by the deadly floods. Videos of the horrible situation in Nepal also went viral, showing several iron bridges struggling to survive in the strong current.
Rescuers recovered 14 bodies overnight from two buses headed to Kathmandu when a landslide buried them. Another 23 bodies were pulled from vehicles on Sunday at the same location, about 16 kilometers from Kathmandu, and workers were searching for others who may have been buried.
VIDEO: Bridge collapses in Nepal due to floods
A Nepal Police statement said another 86 people were injured in the floods and landslides, while 62 are missing. The death toll was expected to rise as reports came in from villages across the mountainous country.
Residents of the southern part of Kathmandu, which was flooded on Saturday, were cleaning their homes as water levels began to recede. At least 34 people died in Kathmandu, the area most affected by the floods.
Police and soldiers were assisting in rescue efforts, while heavy equipment was used to clear landslides from roads. The government announced it would close schools and universities across Nepal for the next three days.
The monsoon season begins in June and usually ends in mid-September. Weather officials in the capital attributed the storms to a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal that extends over parts of neighboring India near Nepal. Haphazard development amplifies the risks of climate change in Nepal, say climate scientists at the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). “I have never seen flooding of this scale in Kathmandu before,” said Arun Bhakta Shrestha, environmental risk officer at the centre.
In a statement, he urged the government and city planners to “urgently” step up investment and plans for infrastructure such as underground stormwater and sewage systems, both of the “grey” or engineered type and the “green” type. or nature-based type. The impact of the rains was compounded by poor drainage due to unplanned urbanization and settlement efforts, construction on floodplains, lack of water retention areas and encroachment by the Bagmati River, it added.
However, the level of the Koshi River in southeastern Nepal has started to fall, said Ram Chandra Tiwari, the region’s top bureaucrat. The river, which causes deadly floods in the eastern Indian state of Bihar almost every year, had been running above the danger mark at a level almost three times normal, he said.
(With contributions from agencies)
READ ALSO: Nepal: Death toll rises to 112 and dozens remain missing as rains cause landslides and floods
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