At least 58 people have died in floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in Nepal, the government said yesterday.
Another 20 people are missing and the Nepal army is racing to evacuate hundreds more from flooded villages as the waters rise.
The home ministry spokesman said 58 people were confirmed dead and another 20 were still unaccounted for.
“Our teams are working continuously in search and rescue operations, as well as to provide relief,” deputy spokesman Jhanka Nath Dhakal said.
As many as 75 houses collapsed in some 10 districts due to the floods.
The 10 worst-hit districts by floods are namely Pyuthan, Gulmi, Palpa, Baglung, Makawanpur, Rupandehi, Kathmandu, Arghakhanchi, Dolakha and Sarlahi, according to local media reports.
The home ministry said that local police have been deployed in rescue operations in those districts.
“The district relief committees have been instructed to carry out rescue and relief operations in co-ordination with local police,” the ministry said.
Images released by the army, which is involved in the operation, showed villagers waiting on rooftops to be evacuated in
motorboats.
Scores of people die every year from flooding and landslides during the monsoon rains in Nepal and neighbouring India.
Earlier this month, two children were killed when a school in the capital partially collapsed in heavy rains.
The situation is particularly desperate this year because millions of Nepalis are still living in tents or makeshift huts after a devastating earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people
in 2015.
Water levels were close to dangerous levels in the Saptakoshi river. Flow in the Saptakoshi has crossed this year’s highest mark after continuous rainfall for the past 10 days. Water flow in the river was measured at 277,410 cusec on Tuesday morning, the highest for this year. Thirty-seven of the 56 floodgates have been opened.
Water levels at the Narayani have also crossed the danger mark. Local administration has mobilised security personnel to warn people living near the river.
The government has launched rescue and relief operations in 14 of Nepal’s 75 districts that have been affected by the floods. Soldiers and volunteers used rubber boats to rescue people marooned by the flooding, while helicopters were being used to drop food supplies.