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Floods and landslides kill 200 in India and Nepal

Nearly 200 people have died in floods and landslides in India and Nepal, officials said on Thursday (Oct 21), with whole families buried in their homes and two young girls swept away as forecasters warned of yet more heavy rain.

Experts say that they were victims of the ever-more unpredictable and extreme weather that has hit South Asia in recent years caused by climate change and exacerbated by deforestation, damming and excessive development.

Nepal recorded the sharpest rise in casualties, with officials saying that 88 people have died, among them a family of six including three children whose house was obliterated by a sudden avalanche of soil and debris.

“All District Disaster Management Committees have been actively working for the rescue and relief operations. Under the committee, Nepal Police, Armed Force Police, Nepal Army and other agencies have been mobilised,” emergencies official Dijan Bhattarai said.

Floods and landslides kill 200 in India and Nepal
A statue of the Hindu god Lord Shiva amid the flooded River Ganga in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, on October 19

In the Himalayan northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, 55 people were confirmed on Thursday to have died – five of whom were from a single family whose house was buried by a massive landslide.

Many bridges and roads have been damaged and many towns have been cut off, and the army has been brought in to restore contact and reach thousands of people stranded.

Floods and landslides kill 200 in India and Nepal
People stand along the banks of the flooded Karnali River following heavy rains in Rajapur village of Bardiya district in Nepal on October 20.

Both states began receiving heavy rainfall over the weekend, resulting in landslides, bridges and houses collapsing, and rivers overflowing. Aerial footage of the affected areas showed villages partially submerged by floodwaters.

Floods and landslides kill 200 in India and Nepal
Submerged cars are seen at a flooded hotel resort as extreme rainfall caused the Kosi River to overflow at the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, India, Tuesday, Oct. 19

“There is huge loss due to the floods … the crops have been destroyed,” Uttarakhand’s chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, told Reuters partner ANI after surveying the damage late on Tuesday.

“The locals are facing a lot of problems, the roads are waterlogged, bridges have been washed away.”

In Uttarakhand, Nainital district was the worst affected area with the most deaths, according to senior police official Ashok Kumar. At least 3,000 people had to be evacuated from a barge on the Sarda River, which overflowed on Monday, he said.

Floods and landslides kill 200 in India and Nepal

The flooding comes in the middle of a religious pilgrimage called the Chardham Yatra, during which Hindus from around India make the journey to Uttarakhand.

Up to 100 pilgrims from the western state of Gujarat were visiting Uttarakhand when the floods arrived, according to Gujarat’s disaster management minister Rajendra Trivedi.

Six of those pilgrims became trapped in the upper reaches of Kedarnath, one of the main religious sites. A helicopter was sent to evacuate the pilgrims, but poor weather conditions frustrated rescue efforts, Trivedi said on Tuesday. By Wednesday, water levels had receded enough for the pilgrims and residents to find safe shelter.

The pilgrimage has been temporarily suspended, and will resume once rainfall recedes.

Personnel from India’s National Disaster Response Force rescue stranded civilians near Nainital, Uttarakhand, on October 20.

Two observatories in the Kumaun region of the state, where Nainital is located, recorded 340.8 millimeters (13.4 inches) of rainfall and 403.2 millimeters (15.8 inches) respectively, marking the highest rainfall over a 24-hour period ever recorded in the region, the Indian Meteorological Department said Tuesday.

The Himalayan state is especially prone to flooding. More than 200 were feared killed in February after flash floods swept away a hydroelectric dam.

Meanwhile in Kerala, more than 200 families are currently in 26 evacuation camps across the state. With heavy rainfall forecast to continue in the coming days, state authorities are urging residents to stay indoors.

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