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At least 9 dead, 22 missing in landslide in northeastern Nepal

Kathmandu, September 13 (efe-epa).- A massive landslide buried some two dozen homes early Sunday, killing at least nine people and leaving 22 others missing in northeastern Nepal, officials said.

Rescue teams have been conducting operations at Dhumthang in Bahrabise Municipality, located over 200 kilometers (124 miles) west of the capital city of Kathmandu, Sindhupalchok’s Chief District Officer Umesh Kumar Dhakal told EFE.

The official revealed that “two rescue teams have already reached the affected area,” and they have so far recovered nine bodies.

The toll is expected to rise as the operation continues, Dhakal added.

Two human settlements in two different locations have been completely swept away or buried by masses of rock, earth or debris that slid down a more than one-kilometer long slope.

“Around 20 houses have been swept away or buried. We haven’t seen such a big landslide before. It is massive,” the official said.

Annual monsoon rains often trigger landslides in Nepal’s mountainous regions and cause flooding in the south.

The district of Sindhupalchok – one of the worst-hit areas during the devastating earthquake of April 2015, which killed nearly 9,000 people in Nepal – is known to experience frequent landslides

On Aug.14, a landslide in Jugal Rural Municipality in Sindhupalchok killed 19 people.

The monsoon season occurs across South Asia from June until September.

According to Nepal Disaster Risk Reduction Portal, since the onset of monsoon until Sep.12, at least 318 people have lost their lives due to landslides, floods and lightning in the Himalayan country.

Moreover, 300 persons have been injured and 84 persons are still missing across the country.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, based on the water-induced disasters, has claimed that this has been the deadliest monsoon season in more than a decade in the country.

A humanitarian group said in August that South Asia faced a danger of more deadly disease outbreaks due to monsoon floods since health resources have been stretched to breaking point by the coronavirus that has affected over millions of people in the region.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in a statement said floods have affected almost 17.5 million people in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. EFE-EPA

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