205 dead, 28 missing across Nepal due to rain-induced disasters

KATHMANDU, Sept 30: Disaster incidents induced by persistent rainfall across the country has resulted in at least 205 deaths in the past five days, leaving 89 individuals injured and 28 missing.

According to the Armed Police Force (APF), as of 5:15 pm on Monday, at least 82 individuals died while 17 sustained injuries and 20 have been missing in the Kathmandu valley due to incidents caused by the incessant rain since Thursday evening. Of the 82 reported dead in the valley, 52 died in Kathmandu, 25 persons 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 176 individuals lost their lives to the disaster incidents, 74 were injured and 20 went missing. Similarly, 24 people died, seven were injured and 11 went missing in Koshi Province; three died, four were injured, and one went missing in Madhesh Province; and two died in Lumbini Province.

A total of 1783 housing infrastructures were destroyed across the country with the highest of 1023 losses in Bagmati Province alone. Similarly, 690 houses were destroyed in Koshi Province and 70 in Madhesh 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 3,401 individuals who have been evacuated to safe spots in their local bodies. Of the 3,401 rescued, 1,902 individuals were rescued in the valley alone, 890 in districts of Bagmati Province excluding the Kathmandu valley, 526 in Koshi Province, and the remaining 83 in Madhesh Province.

Govt intensifies aerial rescue efforts, choppers successfully rescues 713 people

Security agencies have intensified aerial rescue efforts for travelers and locals stranded in various locations of Kavrepalanchowk due to floods, landslides, inundation, and natural disaster incidents induced by incessant rain since Thursday.

According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Rishiram Tiwari, the Nepalese Army, at the request of the MoHA, deployed three helicopters since Sunday for rescue operations in hugely affected areas of the district, including Roshi Rural Municipality.

“On Saturday, rescue operations in Kavrepalanchowk could not be carried out by helicopters due to bad weather,” Tiwari told Republica, “With the improvement in weather, the army helicopter has been continuously engaged in rescue operations since Sunday.”

Using the helicopters, the Nepalese Army (NA) rescued as many as 713 people from Kavrepalanchowk, Sindhuli, Makawanpur, Lalitpur and Kathmandu districts, trapped by floods, landslides and inundation induced by the heavy rainfall. According to Tiwari, a total of 532 individuals stranded in different places after the vehicular disruption along the BP Highway were shifted to safe places and were rushed to hospital from Kavrepalmchowk.

“Private helicopters have also been used for the rescue operation from the affected areas,” Tiwari said. He added that while the rescue by helicopters has reached the final stage, the helicopters could be flown on a need-basis on Tuesday too. The rescue team has also supplied relief materials by helicopters to the affected sites. Security personnel are working to clear the debris and resume traffic along the BP Highway.

As weather condition clears, Kavre emerges as most affected by disaster

The number of deaths and property destroyed due to the disaster incidents in Kavrepalanchowk saw a massive spike on Monday as additional security forces and army helicopters finally reached the district after weather conditions improved.

Security forces recorded an increase of 974 houses destroyed in Kavrepalanchowk on Monday alone, where a total of 1000 houses were destroyed. As per a report of the APF, the number of housing structures destroyed since Thursday by disaster incidents across the country (except Kavrepalanchowk) was recorded at 783, which is less than the property loss in Kavrepalanchowk. Similarly, the death toll in the district increased by 24, reaching a total of 59 deaths since Thursday.

Security personnel mobilized in the district for search and rescue operation faced difficulty as the district had remained inaccessible to the rescue teams for three days due to bad weather conditions. DIG Neupane informed Republica that a team led by a Senior Superintendent of Police from the APF has been dispatched to the district to carry out rescue operations.

“The security personnel are working rapidly and diligently to identify locations of disaster incidents to search and rescue the victims of such incidents,” he said, “Since the Chief District Officer of Kavrepalanchowk was recently changed, we are facing additional difficulties in coordinating the rescue operation.”