At least 163 dead, 60 injured in rain-induced disasters across Nepal

KATHMANDU, Sept 29: Disaster incidents induced by persistent rainfall across the country has resulted in at least 163 deaths in the past four days, leaving 60 individuals injured and 57 missing. 

According to the Armed Police Force (APF), as of 6:00 pm on Sunday, at least 79 individuals died while 10 sustained injuries and 20 have been missing in the Kathmandu valley due to incidents caused by the incessant rain since Thursday evening. Of the 79 reported dead in the valley, 52 died in Kathmandu, 22 persons died in Lalitpur and five others in Bhaktapur district.

Of the seven provinces, Bagmati Province was affected the most in terms of casualties, where at least 143 individuals lost their lives to the disaster incidents, 53 were injured and 46 went missing. Similarly, 17 people died, seven were injured and eight went missing in Koshi Province; three died and one went missing in Madhesh Province; and two went missing in Lumbini Province.

A total of 322 housing infrastructures were destroyed across the country with the highest of 234 losses in Koshi Province alone. Similarly, 55 houses were destroyed in Madhesh Province and 33 in Bagmati Province. Three tipper trucks, two excavators and bulldozers swept away by an overflowing Trishuli river on Saturday morning are yet to be recovered.

As per the spokesperson of the APF, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Kumar Neupane, rescue efforts from police personnel resulted in the safe rescue of 3,626 individuals who have been evacuated to safe spots in their local bodies. Of the 3,626 rescued, 1,902 individuals were rescued in the valley alone, 627 in districts of Bagmati Province excluding the Kathmandu valley, 1,029 in Koshi Province, and the remaining 68 in Madhesh Province. 

DIG Neupane informed Republica that a total of 7,373 police personnel were mobilized from the APF and the Nepal Police on Sunday to carry out rescue efforts across the nation. As many as 3,600 personnel were mobilized in the Kathmandu valley while the remaining 3,773 personnel were mobilized in other affected districts across the country. 

On Saturday, a total of 10,540 police personnel were mobilized to carry out rescue efforts across the nation, out of which 3,500 personnel were mobilized in the Kathmandu valley and 7,040 in other affected districts across the country. According to DIG Neupane, the number of required personnel for the rescue efforts decreased on Sunday as the rainfall stopped in most regions across the country.

Although the rainfall has receded, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has issued a warning of heavy rain till Monday. The APF has urged people to contact their hotline number 1114 for emergency rescue.

Weather forecasting and disaster preparation helped minimize losses: Home Minister Lekhak

Minister for Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak said on Sunday that weather forecasting and preemptive preparation for possible disaster helped minimize losses in the disaster incidents induced by rainfall across the nation since Thursday. 

At an all-party meeting held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Sunday afternoon, Minister Lekhak claimed that albeit the damages  due to the forecasting and preparations prior to the disaster, it is still necessary to improve the coordination of such efforts in the future.

“The first stage in disaster reduction and management is pre-disaster notification for the public,” Minister Lekhak said, “According to the weather forecast, relevant information was disseminated to the public prior to the heavy rainfall but it is important that such information is more organized in the future.”' 

He added that the government was adequately prepared for the second stage of disaster management and response. “Due to the government’s preparedness, we could minimize the damage,” Minister Lekhak said.

Similarly, Minister Lekhak said the relevant agencies have been instructed to manage food, drinking water, temporary shelter, primary health and epidemic control in all parts of the country including the Kathmandu Valley.