Death toll in Nepal flooding and landslides reaches at least 100, with dozens still missing
UNB
Publish: 29 Sep 2024, 02:37 PM
KATHMANDU,
Nepal, Sept 29 (AP/UNB) - The death toll from flooding and landslides in Nepal
has reached at least 100, with dozens of people still missing.
Police on Sunday morning
warned the death toll was expected to rise further as reports come in from
villages across the mountainous country.
The weather in Nepal was
improved on Sunday and rescue, recovery and clean-up efforts were underway.
Rescuer workers
recovered 14 bodies overnight from two buses headed to Kathmandu that were
buried in a landslide on a highway near the capital city.
At least one other bus
and other vehicles were still buried at the same spot, and rescuer workers were
digging through rocks and mud trying to find people.
Kathmandu remained cut
off Sunday as the main highways out of the city were blocked by landslides.
Three highways, including the key Prithvi highway that connects Kathmandu to
the rest of the country, have been blocked by landslides.
Residents in the
southern part of Kathmandu, which was inundated by water, were cleaning up
their houses as water levels began to recede.
At least 34 people were
killed in Kathmandu, which was the hardest hit by Saturday's flooding.
Police officers and
soldiers were assisting with rescue efforts, while heavy equipment was used to
clear the landslides from the roads.
The government announced
it was closing schools and colleges across Nepal for the next three days.
The heavy rains, which
started on Friday, slowed on Saturday night, but were expected to continue
through the weekend.
Last week, the
government issued flood warnings across the Himalayan nation warning of massive
rainfall. Buses were banned from traveling at night on highways and people were
discouraged from driving cars.
The monsoon season began
in June and usually ends by mid-September.
END/UNB/AP/PR