Nepal Prime Minister Balendra “Balen” Shah thanked India and China for their swift assistance following the devastating flash floods, saying the support extended by the neighbouring countries reflected the strength and enduring nature of their friendship with Nepal.
Addressing Parliament, Shah acknowledged the prompt disaster relief and humanitarian assistance provided by India, China and other international partners as Nepal grapples with the aftermath of one of the worst disasters to hit the Himalayan nation in recent years.
The death toll from Nepal's devastating flash floods rose to 1,127 on Wednesday, with rescue teams continuing their search for thousands of people still missing more than a week after the disaster struck the Himalayan nation.
Nepal Police said hundreds of bodies had been recovered from several districts, including 348 from Chitwan, 217 from Nawalparasi East, 190 from Nawalparasi West and 155 from Nuwakot. Authorities also recovered 66 bodies from Gorkha, 59 from Dhading, 45 from Rasuwa and 38 from Tanahu.
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Postmortem examinations and legal identification procedures have been completed for 1,113 bodies, police said, while the remains of 95 victims have been handed over to their relatives. Details of 911 unidentified bodies have also been uploaded to the Nepal Police website to help families searching for missing relatives.
Security forces have rescued 6,541 people from flood-hit areas so far, while search operations continue for 4,858 people who remain missing. Authorities have deployed 7,912 police personnel across affected areas to assist with search and rescue operations, relief distribution and the management of recovered bodies.
Police teams are also relocating families from high-risk areas, clearing roads blocked by debris and coordinating rescue and relief efforts with local authorities and residents.
The flash floods were triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, devastating towns and villages across northern and central Nepal. However, continuing rainfall has created fresh challenges for rescue teams, particularly in the hard-hit districts of Rasuwa and Nuwakot.
Meteorologist Rojan Lamichhane of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said moderate rainfall was expected in the Bhotekoshi flood-affected region on Wednesday afternoon, including in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading.
The department said Nosyam Pati in Sindhupalchok recorded the highest rainfall over the previous 12 hours at 60.2 millimetres. Moderate rain was reported across several areas of Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces, while parts of Koshi, Karnali and Sudurpaschim experienced light to moderate rainfall.
Authorities also warned of the possibility of heavy rain in some mountainous areas of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces later in the night.
Meanwhile, overnight rain has further complicated search and rescue operations around the Bhotekoshi flood zone, particularly inside hydropower project tunnels where several workers remain missing.
Dharma Raj Uprety, Executive Chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said rainwater had filled the tunnels, making rescue operations significantly more difficult.
Teams comprising the Nepali Army, Armed Police Force, foreign technical experts and project employees have continued their efforts to locate the missing workers, but difficult conditions inside the tunnels have hampered the operation.
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Ganesh Karki, former president of the Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal, said rescue efforts had also been slowed by difficulties in transporting equipment to the affected tunnels.
He said even locating the tunnel entrances had become a major challenge after debris carried by the floodwaters covered the area.
“The material carried by the river has reached over the tunnels,” Karki said. “It has become difficult even to determine the exact location of the tunnel entrances.”
(With PTI inputs.)
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