Disasters & Accidents

At least 7 dead as floods wreak havoc in Nepal

Kathmandu, June 16 (EFE).- At least seven people lost their lives in floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains that have wreaked havoc in Nepal, officials said on Wednesday.

The heavy downpour has damaged several residential building complexes in the worst-hit Helambu and Melamchi areas of the Sindhupalchok district, around 50 km northeast of the capital Kathmandu.

Sindhupalchok chief district officer Arun Kumar Pokharel told EFE that the deceased people were missing since last evening.

Searchers recovered their bodies on Wednesday morning.

“They were working in Melamchi trout (fish) farm,” Pokharel said.

He said the authorities deployed search and rescue teams in various areas hit by the massive floods.

Photos and videos posted on social media channels show various buildings on the bank of the Melamchi river inundated.

The government has deployed the army to conduct a rescue mission for the people stranded in the inundated houses, said Pokharel.

The floods have swept away three bridges in Helambu and one in Melamchi and destroyed many roads, leaving many parts of the district disconnected.

Last year nearly 400 people died in monsoon-related disasters in the Himalayan nation, the data on the Nepal Disaster Risk Reduction Portal showed.

The country gets nearly 80 percent of its annual rainfall during the monsoon season from June to September.

The rainy season began in Nepal on June 12 this year.

Nepal is highly vulnerable to natural disasters.

Globally, the landlocked country is ranked fourth, 11th, and 30th in terms of vulnerability to climate change, earthquake, and flood risks, according to a United Nations Development Programme report.

Grave disaster risks lurk behind the rich geography of tall mountains spanning the northern border of Nepal. EFE

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