Flash Floods And Landslides In Nepal: 14 Dead, 9 Missing Amid Heavy Rain

Lashing rains in Nepal have caused flash floods and landslides, leading to the deaths of at least 14 people across the country, with disaster teams engaged in a search for nine missing individuals, police reported on Sunday.

Widespread damage and impact on millions have also been observed due to flooding in neighbouring India and downstream in Bangladesh, as reported by First Post.

Photo Credit: PTI

Flash Floods And Landslides In Nepal: 14 Dead

The search for the missing is being carried out by Nepalese police in collaboration with other agencies and locals, as stated by police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki to AFP. The fatalities and missing persons are spread across multiple locations.

Monsoon rains from June to September are responsible for widespread death and destruction each year across South Asia. However, the frequency of fatal floods and landslides has increased in recent years. It is believed by experts that climate change and increased road construction are exacerbating the issue, as per media reports.

Heavy rainfall has been received in parts of Nepal since Thursday, prompting warnings of flash floods in multiple rivers by disaster authorities in the Himalayan nation. Several districts in lowland areas bordering India have reported inundation. Last month, 14 people in Nepal were killed in severe storms that triggered landslides, lightning, and flooding.

In India, floods have inundated the northeastern state of Assam, resulting in six deaths in the last 24 hours, as reported by Assam's Disaster Management Authority on Sunday. This brings the death toll from the downpours since mid-May to 58. In low-lying Bangladesh, downstream from India, floods have affected more than two million people, according to the disaster management agency, as reported by First Post.

Much of Bangladesh comprises deltas where the Himalayan rivers, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, flow towards the sea after passing through India. The summer monsoon is responsible for 70-80 per cent of the annual rainfall in South Asia.