By Gopal Sharma
Rain in Kathmandu (Reuters) triggered a landslide, with flooding on the top of the mountain blocking roads, killing at least 47 people since Friday in Nepal, officials said on Sunday.
Kalidas Dhauboji, spokesman for the Armed Police Force, said 35 people were killed on a separate landslide in the Iram district in the east, bordering India.
He added that nine people disappeared after being washed away by the flood, and three others were killed in lightning strikes elsewhere in Nepal.
“Rescue for missing persons is underway,” said Shanti Mahat, spokesman for the National Disaster Risk and Management Authority of Nepal.
At least seven people died from landslides on the border of the eastern mountainous areas of East India in West Bengal, according to local media reports.
“Seven bodies have been recovered from the debris. We have more information about the two people,” Darjeeling District Police Officer Abhishek Roy said on Sunday.
Authorities said several highways had been blocked by landslides and were washed away by floods, stranding hundreds of passengers.
“Domestic flights have been largely disturbed, but international flights are operating properly,” said Rinji Sherpa, spokesman for Kathmandu Airport, Nepal’s largest international portal.
In southeastern Nepal, the Kohi River, which causes deadly flooding in eastern India almost every year is above dangerous levels, a regional official said.
Sunsari District Governor Dharmendra Kumar Mishra said all 56 Sluice gates in Koshi Barrage were opened to drain water, while under normal circumstances there were about 10 to 12, adding that authorities banned traffic on the bridge.
In the mountain circle of Kathmandu, several rivers flooded the roads and flooded many houses, cutting capital from other parts of the country through the roads.
Most of the monsoon seasons are common in the mountainous areas of Nepal every year, and hundreds of people die from the monsoon season, usually starting in mid-June and continuing until mid-September.
The rain may slam the Himalayan country until Monday when authorities said they were taking “maximum care and preventive measures” to help people affected by the disaster.
(Reported by Gopal Sharma in Kathmandu; Other reports by Jayshree P Upadhyay in Mumbai; Editors of Lincoln Feast and Jamie Freed)
