Search and rescue teams in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, worked tirelessly on Monday, sifting through wreckage left by severe monsoon floods that have claimed at least 192 lives across the country.
As waters receded, rescuers focused on finding survivors in devastated areas.
According to the AFP, the monsoon, which lasts from June to September, is notorious for causing deadly floods and landslides across South Asia. However, experts warn that the situation is worsening due to climate change.
Entire neighborhoods in Kathmandu were submerged following the heaviest rainfall the city has seen in more than two decades. Landslides have also severed key highway connections between the capital and the rest of Nepal.
“Our primary concern right now is search and rescue, particularly for those stranded on highways,” Home Ministry spokesperson Rishi Ram Tiwari said. He confirmed that 192 people had lost their lives and that 31 were still missing.
One of the most devastating incidents occurred on a highway south of Kathmandu, where a landslide buried multiple vehicles, killing at least 35 people.
“The earth came crashing down, engulfing vehicles and leaving no time for escape,” said Nepal Police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki.
Rescue teams, wading through knee-deep mud, used shovels to clear debris in the hardest-hit riverside areas of Kathmandu, many of which were unauthorized slum settlements.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, a think tank based in Nepal, pointed to the unchecked urban expansion along the Bagmati River as a contributing factor to the disaster’s severity.
The Nepalese army has rescued over 4,000 people using helicopters, motorboats, and rafts. They are also deploying bulldozers to clear nearly two dozen major highway sections blocked by landslide debris.
The transportation crisis has led to a shortage of fresh produce in the capital, as roads remain impassable.
“Farmers are ready with their harvest, but everything is stuck because the highways are blocked,” said Binay Shrestha, a worker at one of Kathmandu’s largest produce markets.
Nepal’s meteorological department reported record-breaking rainfall in 14 districts, with the Kathmandu airport logging 240 millimeters (9.4 inches) of rain in 24 hours, the highest since 2002.
The summer monsoon, which delivers 70-80 percent of South Asia’s annual rainfall, is essential for agriculture and food production. Yet, it also brings widespread devastation.
Experts attribute the increased frequency and severity of floods and landslides to the effects of climate change. So far this year, more than 300 people in Nepal have lost their lives due to rain-related disasters.
