KATHMANDU, Sept 7: Nepal is observing a day of national mourning today for the victims of the devastating Bhotekoshi River flood that struck Rasuwa on August 26 and swept through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river corridors.
The government has ordered the national flag to be flown at half-mast at government offices across the country and at Nepali diplomatic missions abroad as the scale of the disaster continues to unfold.
The flood, triggered after an ice and rock avalanche and temporary blockage in the Lhende Khola area near the Nepal-China border, sent a powerful surge downstream, destroying settlements and critical infrastructure across Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading, with impacts extending farther downstream.
Besides several deaths, the disaster has also inflicted extensive damage on roads, bridges, homes and hydropower projects. In Rasuwa alone, an initial assessment found 41 kilometres of roads destroyed, along with six concrete bridges, eight Bailey bridges and 10 suspension bridges. Eight hydropower projects were reported completely damaged.
The continuing search has produced several extraordinary rescues, including people found alive days after being presumed dead. On September 5, rescuers pulled 64-year-old Chandrika Shrestha alive from an air pocket inside her mud-buried home in Betrawati, more than a week after the flood.
Authorities are also struggling with the enormous task of identifying the dead. DNA samples have been collected from 1,181 deceased people and 1,195 relatives. Nepal Police, the Nepali Army and Armed Police Force, along with other government agencies, remain engaged in search, rescue and body management operations.
As Nepal mourns, the continuing recovery effort underscores the unprecedented human cost of the August 26 disaster and the long road ahead for affected communities. People’s News Monitoring Service
People’s News Monitoring Service
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