By Ed Holt
Published: | Updated:
At least 170 people have died after Nepal was hit by flash flooding which left locals ‘buried alive’ after landslides swept the country.
Residents have told harrowing stories of how they were forced to wade through ‘chest-deep’ water as they scrambled to safety.
Nepal has been battered by record amounts of rain over the weekend leading to deadly floods and landslides across the country.
At least 170 people had been killed and a further 42 remain missing – according to the Nepalese government.
Entire neighbourhoods in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu were left submerged after rivers coursing through the capital burst their banks and caused extensive damage to highways connecting the city with the rest of the mountainous nation.
A rescuer carries an injured woman to safety in Kathmandu. Nepal has been battered by record amounts of rain over the weekend leading to floods and landslides across the country
A man wades through a flooded street in Nepal’s capital. Residents have told harrowing stories of how they were forced to wade through ‘chest-deep’ water as they scrambled to safety
Aerial image of Kathmandu after the flooding. Entire neighbourhoods in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu were left submerged after rivers coursing through the capital burst their banks
Distressing details are emerging of how at least 35 of those killed were buried alive in their vehicles after a landslide hit a highway in Kathmandu.
Nepalese Home Ministry spokesperson Rishi Ram Tiwari said that bulldozers were being used to clear several highways that had been blocked by debris, cutting Kathmandu off from the rest of the country.
The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said preliminary data from stations in 14 districts recorded record-breaking rain in the 24 hours to Saturday morning.
A station at the Kathmandu airport recorded about 240 millimetres (9.4 inches) of rain, highest since 2002, it said. Local media had earlier suggested the rainfall was the highest since 1970.
The Bagmati river and its numerous tributaries which cut through Kathmandu broke their banks, damaging nearby homes and vehicles after midnight on Saturday.
Residents struggled through chest-deep water to get to higher ground.
Bishnu Maya Shrestha, who lived in another affected area of Kathmandu, said they had to cut the roof of their homes to escape.
Mr Shresthi said: ‘We jumped from one roof to another to safety and finally they came with boats to rescue us.’
An overturned lorry in Nepal. Distressing details are emerging of how at least 35 of those killed were buried alive in their vehicles after a landslide hit a highway in Kathmandu
Flooded areas of Kathmandu near the Bagmati River. Nepalese Home Ministry spokesperson Rishi Ram Tiwari said that bulldozers were being used to clear several highways that had been blocked by debris, cutting Kathmandu off from the rest of the country
Rescue teams drag a raft full of survivors through a residential street in Kathmandu. So far more than 3,000 people have been rescued
More than 3,000 security personnel were deployed to assist rescue efforts with helicopters and motorboats.
Rescue teams were using rafts to pull survivors to safety. So far more than 3,000 people have been rescued.
Humanitarian organisations are also helping with search and rescue operations, as well as providing relief.
Jagan Chapagain, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a post on X that staff and volunteers ‘are distributing non-food items, providing hygiene kits, and setting up evacuation centers’.
Domestic flights resumed in and out of Kathmandu by Sunday morning after weather forced a complete stoppage from Friday evening, with more than 150 departures cancelled.
The summer monsoon brings South Asia 70-80 percent of its annual rainfall.
Monsoon rains from June to September bring widespread death and destruction every year across South Asia, but the number of fatal floods and landslides has increased in recent years.
Damaged houses following the flash flooding. Domestic flights resumed in and out of Kathmandu by Sunday morning after weather forced a complete stoppage from Friday evening, with more than 150 departures cancelled
Experts say climate change has worsened their frequency and intensity.
A landslide that hit a road in south west Nepal in July pushed two buses with 59 passengers aboard into a river.
Three people were able to escape alive, but authorities managed to recover only 20 bodies from the accident, with raging flood waters impeding the search.
More than 260 people have died in Nepal in rain-related disasters this year.