Nepal has closed schools for a period of three days following landslides and flooding that resulted from two days of heavy rainfall across the Himalayan country, claiming the lives of at least 148 individuals, with 56 others reported missing, according to officials.
The floods caused traffic disruptions and brought daily activities to a halt in the Kathmandu valley, where 37 fatalities were recorded in a region populated by 4 million residents, including the capital.
Authorities indicated that both students and their families encountered challenges as numerous school and university facilities affected by the rains required repairs.
“We have requested the relevant authorities to suspend classes in the impacted areas for three days,” stated Lakshmi Bhattarai, a spokesperson for the education ministry, in an interview with Reuters.
Residents are seen clearing mud from outside their homes in a flood-affected area of Kathmandu.
However, there were indications of improvement, with rain diminishing in various regions, as reported by Govinda Jha, a meteorologist in the capital.
“There may be some isolated showers, but heavy rainfall is not anticipated,” he added.
Television footage captured police rescuers in knee-deep boots using shovels and picks to clear mud and recover 16 bodies of passengers from two buses that were engulfed by a massive landslide on a critical route leading into Kathmandu.
Residents navigated through chest-deep water to reach safer ground, with nearly 3,300 individuals rescued by relief teams; over 3,000 security personnel were dispatched to aid in rescue operations using helicopters and motorboats.
Rescue teams search for survivors after vehicles and passengers were buried in a landslide.
Landslides have obstructed several highways connecting the capital to other parts of the country, stranding hundreds of travelers.
Weather officials in the capital attributed the rainstorms to a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal that extends into parts of neighboring India near Nepal.
Climate scientists at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) noted that haphazard development has intensified climate change risks in Nepal.
“I have never witnessed flooding of this magnitude in Kathmandu,” remarked Arun Bhakta Shrestha, an environmental risk official at the organization.
In their statement, they urged the government and city planners to “swiftly” enhance investments and strategies for infrastructure, including underground stormwater and sewage systems.
The adverse effects of the rains were exacerbated by inadequate drainage systems resulting from unplanned development and urbanization, construction on floodplains, insufficient water retention areas, and encroachment along the Bagmati River, the statement added.
Nonetheless, Ram Chandra Tiwari, the region’s leading bureaucrat, mentioned that the water level in the Koshi River in southeastern Nepal has begun to recede.
This river, which often brings devastating floods to India’s eastern Bihar state nearly every year, had been flowing at nearly three times the normal level, above the danger mark, he noted.
The summer monsoon accounts for 70-80% of South Asia’s annual rainfall.
Monsoon rains from June to September result in widespread tragedy each year across South Asia, with a noticeable rise in fatal floods and landslides in recent years.
Experts indicate that climate change has exacerbated both the frequency and severity of these events.
A landslide in July that impacted a road in Chitwan district caused two buses carrying 59 passengers to plunge into a river.
While three individuals managed to escape, authorities could recover only 20 bodies from the tragedy, with raging floodwaters hampering efforts to search for others.
This year, over 260 people have lost their lives in Nepal due to rain-related disasters.
