The Daily Star (Bangladesh), 29 September 2024

Low-lyingneighbourhoods in Nepal's capital Kathmandu were inundated by surgingfloodwaters on Sunday after ferocious monsoon rains that police said had killedat least 101 people around the Himalayan republic.

Deadly rain-related floods and landslides are common acrossSouth Asia during the monsoon season from June to September, but experts sayclimate change is increasing their frequency and severity.

Large swathes of eastern and central Nepal have beeninundated since Friday with flash floods reported in several rivers andextensive damage to the country's highways.

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

"There is likely to be an increase in the death tollas our search and rescue mission proceeds in the affected areas," headded.

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

It was the highest rainfall recorded in the capital since atleast 1970, the report said.

The Bagmati river and its numerous tributaries which cutthrough Kathmandu broke their banks, inundating nearby homes and vehicles.

Residents pushed through chest-deep water to get to higherground, with nearly 3,300 people rescued by relief teams as of Sunday morning.

More than 3,000 security personnel were deployed to assistrescue efforts with helicopters and motorboats.

Rescue teams were using rafts to pull survivors to safety.

Landslides have blocked several highways connecting thecapital to the rest of the country, leaving hundreds of travellers stranded.

"We have around eight locations, all of them have beenblocked due to landslides in different sections of the road," Kathmandutraffic police officer Bishwaraj Khadka said on Saturday.

Domestic flights have resumed in and out of Kathmandu afterweather forced a complete stoppage from Friday evening, with more than 150departures cancelled.

The summer monsoon brings South Asia 70-80 percent of itsannual rainfall.

Monsoon rains from June to September bring widespread deathand destruction every year across South Asia, but the number of fatal floodsand landslides have increased in recent years.

Experts say climate change has worsened their frequency andintensity.

A landslide that hit a road in Chitwan district in Julypushed two buses with 59 passengers aboard into a river.

Three people were able to escape alive, but authoritiesmanaged to recover only 20 bodies from the accident, with raging flood watersimpeding the search.

More than 260 people have died in Nepal in rain-relateddisasters this year.