‘I have never seen such devastation’: at least 101 dead, 64 missing in terrible floods in Nepal

Floods and landslides caused by heavy rains have killed at least 101 people in Nepal and 64 others are missing, police said Saturday.

“It’s scary”

Faced with the heavy rainfall which began on Friday, the authorities had warned of flash floods in several rivers.

More than 200 cases of flooding and landslides have been recorded to date, he said. Rivers in the capital Kathmandu overflowed, flooding homes near the banks.

“It’s scary. I’ve never seen such devastation”said Mahamad Shabuddin, 34, owner of a motorcycle repair shop, very close to the swollen Bagmati River.

Some survivors took refuge on the roofs of buildings, others fled through the brackish water.

Landslides have blocked several highways, leaving hundreds of people in difficulty: “When I went out in the middle of the night, the water was up to my shoulders. My whole truck is under water”lamented Hari Malla, a 49-year-old driver.

An important system deployed to help residents

More than 3,000 security forces were deployed to assist in the rescue operations using helicopters and motorboats.

“Police are working with other agencies and residents to rescue and locate missing people”said Basanta Adhikari, a spokesperson for Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

All domestic flights from Kathmandu were canceled from Friday evening, affecting more than 150 departures.

Monsoons from June to September cause death and destruction across South Asia each year, but the number of deadly floods and landslides has increased in recent years. Experts say climate change has worsened their frequency and intensity.

A landslide in July in Chitwan district threw two buses and their 59 passengers into a river. Three people managed to escape alive and the authorities were only able to recover twenty bodies in perilous rescue conditions.

More than 220 people have died this year in Nepal in rain-related natural disasters.