At least 150 people died in Nepal after the intense downpours that caused floods in the capital, Kathmanduand in other parts of the country, authorities reported.
Large areas of the east and center of the country have been flooded since Friday, as have entire neighborhoods of the capital. The rivers have overflowed, with their attendant lot of damage and loss of human life.
In a new assessment, the national disaster management agency said that at least 148 people died in different parts of the country, and that others 59 they are still missing.
“We came back this morning [de domingo] and everything had changed. “We couldn’t even open the doors of the house, they were blocked by mud.”he told AFP Kumar Tamanga 40-year-old man who lives in a slum and had to flee with his family early Saturday morning, when the water entered his cabin.
“Yesterday we were afraid that the water would kill us, and today we have no water to clean.” Some of the victims took refuge on the roof of the buildings, and others fled, making their way through the muddy water.
“It’s scary. I’ve never seen such destruction,” he said Saturday. Mahamad Shabuddinowner of a motorcycle repair shop, near the Bagmati River.
The floods in Nepal caused destruction, caused nearly 150 deaths and another 59 remain missing
He Bagmati River and its tributaries, which cross Kathmandu They overflowed and flooded the riverside neighborhoods, in addition to washing away vehicles, after midnight on Saturday.
At least 36 of the deceased were aboard three vehicles, and were buried alive when a landslide hit a highway south of Kathmanduthe police spokesperson told AFP, Dan Bahadur Karki.
More than 3,000 peoplewith the help of helicopters and boats. The work allowed the rescue of more than 3,000 victimssaid the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, Rishi Ram Tiwari.
“We had to jump from one roof to another to get to safety, and in the end they came with boats to rescue us,” he told AFP. Bishnu Maya Shresthawho lived in a flooded area Kathmandu and had to break the roof of his house to escape.
The valley of Kathmandu record 240 millimeters of rain in 24 hoursbetween Friday and Saturday morning, the Nepalese meteorological agency told the Kathmandu Post newspaper. They are the most important rainfall in the capital since at least 1970, according to this agency.
The monsoons, from June to September, cause deaths and damage throughout Southeast Asia every year, but the number of floods and landslides has increased in recent years. Experts say climate change has increased in frequency and severity.
Source: Ambito
