Death toll rises from floods in Nepal

Kathmandu (dpa) – The death toll and number of missing continued

to rise as the monsoon caused havoc across Nepal, local media

reported Thursday.

   Ten people from a single family went missing in Nepal’s

far-western Dolpa district in flash floods of a nearby river caused

by five days of continuous rainfall. 

Survivors said the waters had raged 9 metres high, the newspaper

Kantipur reported. Police discovered two bodies of family members

Wednesday.

   Landslides swept away parts of the Karnali highway in western

Nepal. Vehicles carrying supplies to the Kalikot and Jumla districts,

which suffer from food shortages, were stranded.

   One person was reported dead and scores missing in flash floods in

eastern Nepal on Thursday.

   Hundreds of families were displaced in the eastern districts of

the Himalayan nation as the monsoon rain caused flashfloods and

landslides.

   Some 700 families were displaced in the eastern district of

Sunsari due to incessant rainfall since early Wednesday. People fled

after the water from the Sunsari River swept into houses.

   Police, who have been assisting with rescue operations, evacuated

some families.

   Nearby Dharan continued to reel under the downpour. Dharan

recorded 150 millimetres of rain on Wednesday, the highest this

month, according to the Meterological Forecasting Division of Nepal.

   A number of bridges in parts of eastern Nepal have collapsed due

to the torrential rainfall, disrupting transport and leaving

passengers stranded.

   The death toll is expected to rise as the police continue search

and rescue operations. 

   Hundreds die and thousands are displaced every year due to monsoon

rain in Nepal.