60 dead, 64 missing in Nepal floods

More than 60 people have died in Central Nepal as three days of record-breaking rainfall caused rivers to burst their banks and triggered landslides. Another 64 are missing, according to the Armed Police Force that is engaged in search and rescue.

Kathmandu Valley was hit the hardest, having been hit by half the annual average in just two days. More than 700mm of rain fell in just the past 30 hours. The heaviest rain was in southern Lalitpur district, and that is where at least 20 of the fatalities happened.

Bagmati Province where Kathmandu is located recorded 53 deaths while Lalitpur saw the highest casualty at 18, followed by 14 in Kavre and 11 in Kathmandu. Bhaktapur and Panchthar have recorded five deaths each while Dhankuta, Sindhupalchok and Dolakha registered two.

Of those missing, 54 are from Bagmati, seven from Kosi, two from Lumbini and one from Madhes. District-wise, Kavre has the highest number of missing individuals at 16 — most of them along the Rosi Kkola which saw a flash flood.

Fifteen are missing in Lalitpur, six each in Kathmandu and Makwanpur, five each in Panchthar and Dolakha, four in Jhapa, three in Dhading, two in Rupandehi and one each in Mahottari and Sindhuli.

Of the 34 injured, 33 are from Bagmati province. Meanwhile, security personnel have rescued 2,103 people, nearly 1,500 of them in Kathmandu Valley. Nepal Army helicopters were used to pluck stranded people in Lalitpur and Kavre.

In Makwanpur, three students affiliated with the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) were killed in a landslide while three others are missing. 

The floods and landslides have damaged property worth millions in Bagmati and Kosi provinces while Madhes, Gandaki, Karnali, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim have also suffered damage. A major highway bridge connecting Khotang with the Tarai was washed away. Another road bridge joining Ramechhap at Khurkot was also swept away.

Most highways across Nepal have been blocked by landslides and fallen trees, stranding thousands of travellers. The government has banned passenger buses at night on some arterial highways. 

Ramechhap Airport at Manthali which is used for flights ferrying trekkers to Lukla during the peak season has also been flooded after Tam Kosi overflowed. A Tara Air Twin Otter and a Summit Air Let 410 have been towed to a higher part of the apron.

Two sluice gates of the Kulekhani Dam were partially opened on Saturday morning as the water level rose dangerously high in the reservoir. The dam has been running at full capacity generating 60MW of energy since Friday, but the water level is at an all-time-high at 1,530.93m.

In Dolakha, five technicians are missing from the dam site of the Upper Tamakosi Hydroelectric Project. The headworks of the dam as well as the control room, desander and culvert have been damaged due to the landslide. Power generation had been stopped from 7PM on Friday due to high water flow.