The death toll from Wednesday’s devastating floods in northern Nepal reached 469, police said, as search and rescue teams widened operations downstream and hundreds remained missing, Kathmandu Post (KP) reported this Friday morning.
The flash flood struck Rasuwa and neighbouring districts, sending a powerful surge of water and debris into the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers. Homes, bridges, roads and other infrastructure were swept away, leaving some communities and travellers cut off.
The full scale of the disaster remained unclear as authorities reconciled casualty and missing-person reports from different districts.
The Nepal Tourism Board said on Thursday night that 667 tourists and travellers, including 127 Nepalis, remained missing in flood-affected areas.
The board said it was verifying the whereabouts of tourists and travellers who were in or passing through Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading when the floods struck on Wednesday morning.
Foreign nationals were among those missing. The board said 31 foreign nationals had been rescued, including one Indian, four South Koreans, two Americans, two Russians, two Italians, one Bulgarian and one Swiss national. The nationalities of the remaining 18 rescued people had not been confirmed.
The Tourism Board, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, tourist police and other tourism agencies were collecting and verifying information on missing travellers.
They were also coordinating with travel agencies, trekking companies, guides, local authorities and security agencies in the search and rescue effort.
The Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force were deployed for search, rescue and evacuation operations. Helicopters were being used to reach isolated areas and evacuate survivors, while ground teams searched riverbanks and downstream settlements.
The floods severely damaged transport links and other infrastructure, further complicating efforts to reach affected communities.
The cause of the sudden surge was still under investigation. The flood struck with little warning in the Himalayan foothills and rapidly swept through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river system, leaving people in vulnerable areas little time to escape.
FP/A
