Landslides and floods set off by incessant rainfall have killed at least 38 people in Nepal, officials said on Sunday, adding to the woes of an interim government struggling to find its footing after violent protests deposed its predecessor.
The highways connecting the federal capital, Kathmandu, with the rest of the country have been obstructed since Saturday morning, and flights have been disrupted, police officials said.
The transportation nightmare has stranded a large number of people who are returning to the capital at the end of Dashain, the biggest Hindu festival. The government closed offices on Sunday, which is a working day in Nepal, and Monday, indicating the gravity of the situation.
Officials said the death toll could rise. Nepal’s army mobilized troops and helicopters and was carrying out rescue operations in over two dozen locations, it said in a statement on Sunday.
At least 36 people were killed after landslides swept away houses in Koshi Province, in the country’s southeast, and at least two others were killed in floods, according to Kalidas Dhaubaji, the spokesman for Nepal’s Armed Police Force. At least 11, including four trekkers on the famous Langtang route, were still missing, he said.
In addition to Koshi, the central provinces of Bagmati and Madhesh were heavily affected by the intense rainfall that started on Friday night. The security agencies also evacuated dozens of people living in slums along river banks in the Kathmandu Valley as the overflowing rivers entered the settlements.
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