Landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains have killed at least 15 people in Nepal in the past 24 hours, officials in the tiny Himalayan nation said on Sunday, fearing the number could rise as further heavy rains are expected.
Flooding in the past 24 hours also left 18 people injured and two missing, police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki said. Dozens of people were evacuated to safety, some from the rubble of damaged homes.
Officials said the landslides hampered vehicular traffic in much of the country, where terrain already makes travel difficult. Highways and winding roads linking cities to mountain villages were damaged. Military and police were deployed to help clear roads.
Kosi, Gandaki and Bagmati provinces in the east and center of the country are the worst-hit provinces. Meteorological experts predict that heavy rainfall may affect the remaining provinces as the rain moves westward.
Nepal is one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, regularly facing landslides and floods. Last year’s monsoon affected nearly 6,000 households, damaging their homes and inundating farmland. At least 62 people have been killed since the monsoon season began in June, according to the country’s interior ministry. Most deaths are due to flooding, but lightning is also a factor.
Political instability and widespread corruption complicate already resource-strapped relief efforts.
Kathmandu’s coalition government is once again in disarray as a new alliance seeks to overthrow current Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. If he is ousted, the country will see its second government since parliamentary elections in November 2022.
