Flooding, landslides in Nepal kill at least 126 people, several missing

Home Ministry spokesperson Rishiram Tiwari said sixty people were injured and 3,010 rescued across the Himalayan nation.

In this aerial image of the Kathmandu valley, Bagmati River is seen in flood due to heavy rains in Kathmandu. Photo | AP

KATHMANDU: Flooding and landslides caused by continuous rainfall has killed at least 126 people in Nepal, and a further 64 are missing, officials said Saturday. Rain has been pouring down since Friday night and is expected to continue over the weekend.

"The death toll has reached 101, and 64 people are missing," police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki told AFP.

"There is likely to be an increase in the death toll as our search and rescue mission proceeds in the affected areas," he added.

Home Ministry spokesperson Rishiram Tiwari said sixty people were injured and 3,010 rescued across the Himalayan nation.

He said all divisions of security forces in the country including the army have been ordered to help in the rescue efforts. Several roads were blocked by landslides triggered by the rainfall.

Hridesh Sah, 40, mourns the death of his nephew, who was found dead near a scrap collection site on the outskirts of Kathmandu after the shed he was sleeping under was flooded due to heavy rains in the country's capital.Photo | AP

Three highways, including the key Prithvi highway, connecting Kathmandu to the rest of the country have been blocked by landslides, and heavy equipment is being used to try open the routes, said Tiwari.

The government had issued flood warnings across the Himalayan nation warning of massive rainfall.

Buses were banned from traveling at night on highways and cars were discouraged. Security forces were ordered to high alert.

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak told reporters that officials are still collecting information on the effects of the flooding.

“The government's priority right now is to rescue the people and help those who have been affected,” Lekhak said.

Parts of Kathmandu were inundated by swollen rivers with many houses flooded and residents forced to move to top floors. A huge area on the southern side of the city was mostly flooded. An army helicopter was used to pick up four people who were unable to leave their houses. Most of Kathmandu was without power and internet for a period of time.

The monsoon season that bring heavy rainfall began in June and usually ends by mid-September.

The valley in which the capital sits recorded 240 millimetres (9.4 inches) of rain in the 24 hours to Saturday morning, the country's weather bureau told the Kathmandu Post newspaper.

It was the highest rainfall recorded in Kathmandu since at least 1970, the report said.