Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Friday convened a Cabinet meeting to discuss the extensive damage caused by the devastating floods in Rasuwa district and review rescue, relief and reconstruction efforts.
The meeting began at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The PMO said the Cabinet would take key decisions on the damage caused by the Bhotekoshi-area floods on August 26 and consider measures to strengthen relief operations and accelerate reconstruction of damaged infrastructure.
The crisis followed a catastrophic flash flood along the Tibet-Nepal border on Wednesday, sending a powerful surge of water, sediment and boulders through the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems and causing widespread destruction in Rasuwa and other areas.
According to Nepal Police, the death toll had risen to 469 by Friday, while 1,545 people had been injured and rescued. Chitwan reported the highest number of deaths, with 178 bodies recovered, followed by 110 in NP East, 44 in Gorkha, 37 in Nuwakot, 33 in Dhading, 28 in Tanahun, 27 in NP West and 12 in Rasuwa.
Authorities have rescued 644 people from Rasuwa, 898 from Nuwakot and three from Dhading.
Meanwhile, the Nepali Army intensified rescue operations to evacuate people believed to be trapped inside a hydropower project tunnel in Rasuwa following the flooding.
“Despite the challenging terrain and hazardous conditions, the Nepali Army rescue team has so far safely rescued two people from the tunnel. A search is underway to determine how many people remain trapped inside, with efforts continuing to evacuate them,” the PMO said in a post.
The Army has deployed technical equipment and specially trained personnel to continue the search for those still believed to be trapped inside the tunnel, it added.
The disaster response was further complicated on Friday after a 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck Longchang City in southwest China’s Sichuan province, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, CGTN reported.
Nepal Police issued another flood alert after receiving information that a dam on the Tibet side had burst again. Residents in the Trishuli area were evacuated as a heavy flow of water from upstream threatened to raise river levels.
“Information has been received that the water dam on the Tibet side has burst again. Therefore, all security personnel, rescue workers involved in rescue and relief operations, and the general public are requested to remain immediately alert and move to safe locations or notify others,” Nepal Police said in a post on X.
Leader of Opposition in Nepal’s House of Representatives Bhishma Raj Angdembe said the Nepal Army and helicopter teams were continuing rescue operations despite difficult terrain and weather conditions.
“The geographical terrain here makes the weather conditions unfavourable for operations, yet our army and all our helicopter teams are fully engaged in the effort,” Angdembe told reporters in Trishuli.
He said federal, provincial and local governments were working together, with two Army helicopters and private-sector helicopters deployed for the rescue effort.
“We are utilising every resource available to us. We are keeping everyone informed, and our security agencies are issuing advisories urging people to stay safe,” he said.
Road construction between Trishuli and Rasuwagadhi has also been temporarily suspended. All JCB machines have been recalled and construction activities halted amid the flood threat.
26 Gujaratis uncontactable in Nepal
Meanwhile, the number of Gujaratis stranded or uncontactable following the flash floods in Nepal has risen to 26, officials said on Friday.
According to data compiled by the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) as of 7:45 a.m. on August 28, the number increased from 12 to 18 and then to 26.
The district-wise breakup is Ahmedabad five, Anand five, Gandhinagar four, Surat three, Kheda three, Vadodara two, Amreli two, Rajkot one and Valsad one.
Of the 26 people, 17 are foreign nationals of Indian origin, including nine Americans, five Canadians, one Australian and two New Zealanders. The remaining nine are Indian citizens, mostly from Ahmedabad and Anand.
Some of the stranded tourists were near the Nepal-Tibet border. Pareshbhai Patel, Jyotiben Patel and Meenakshiben Ramani of Surat had travelled to Nepal on August 23. Their last known location was traced near the Nepal-Tibet border, after which contact was lost.
Officials said some tourists from Gandhinagar had travelled to Nepal through a trekking planner, while two tourists from Anand had gone for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Himalayan Glacier and Adventure and have remained uncontactable.
The SEOC has classified all 26 people as “missing/uncontactable”. The Gujarat administration is coordinating with central agencies and monitoring efforts to establish contact and trace their whereabouts.
(ANI Inputs)
