Monsoon deluge in Nepal

Parts of Kathmandu received 150mm of rain within 10 hours on Tuesday, which is half of the monthly average for August. The continuous downpour caused the Bagmati, Bishnumati, and Hanumante rivers to overflow its constricted banks, forcing people to abandon their homes as the water level rose.

International and domestic flights were either cancelled or delayed. Several international flights were diverted to Lucknow or Varanasi, while others were forced to hold for hours as heavy rain and low cloud ceiling affected visibility at Kathmandu airport. 

Eastern and central Nepal have seen continuous rain since Monday night. Eleven areas across the country, have received ‘extremely heavy’ rainfall — categorised by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology as precipitation between 100-200mm in 24 hours. Districts like Saptari, Chitwan, Morang, Sindhupalchok, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Sunsari, Dhanusha, Makwanpur and Udaypur are the worst affected. 

The aximum rainfall occurred in Rupni Bazar in Saptari, which saw a precipitation of 178.7mm in 12 hours. Meanwhile, Godavari in Lalitpur saw 98.4mm of rain and Kapan in Kathmandu received 100.8mm in the last 12 hours.

Similarly, ‘heavy’ rain (classified by the Meteorology Department as precipitation between 50-100mm over 24 hours) was recorded in 55 places of the country.

Although the rain has stopped in kathmandu, the Department issued a special weather bulletin on  warning of heavy rainfall over Tuesday and Wednesday due to the monsoon low-pressure trough moving across Nepal.

A Nepal Police count shows that 154 people have died in monsoon-related disasters across Nepal since June, and 4,238 families have been displaced. 

Some scenes from around the flooded Kathmandu on Tuesday: 

Swipe through the gallery to see more photos.