Nepal digs through mud and grief, as families search for loved ones
People lined up outside hospitals, looking through photographs of the dead pasted on walls; families wading through mud and debris in search of their possessions; a woman carrying a child past damaged buildings; and a dead dog lying amid the wreckage. These are some of the stark images that have come to define the aftermath of Nepal’s devastating flash floods.
With each passing day, relatives of those missing lose a little more hope, even as rescuers battle difficult conditions in the search for survivors. Nepal is struggling to find its footing after a torrent of water, mud and debris swept through towns and villages on Wednesday, washing away homes, vehicles, roads, bridges and damaging hydropower projects, causing heavy casualties.
The death toll crossed 650 on Saturday, while more than 2,400 people remained missing, as rescue teams raced against time amid intermittent rainfall in the flood-affected regions.
Outside hospitals, families could be seen lining up to check lists of injured people admitted for treatment, carefully going through names and photographs in the hope of finding someone they know. When they fail to find their loved ones among the survivors, many turn to another list – photographs of the dead – with heavy hearts. Rescuers, meanwhile, are working round the clock, braving rain in some places and digging through drying mud in others in their search for those still missing.
In the darkness of the night, Nepal Home Minister Sudan Gurung monitored excavators clearing tonnes of mud at the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower project site, where more than a hundred people were trapped inside a tunnel following the devastating floods.
The Nepali Army has already rescued 350 people who were trapped inside the tunnel, online Khabar news portal reported.
The scale of the devastation was visible across villages in central Nepal, with buildings buried under several feet of mud, vehicles half-submerged, and roads and other infrastructure washed away by the torrent of water and debris.
For those who survived, the immediate task is to find shelter, seek medical assistance and recover whatever belongings can be salvaged from the wreckage.
Heart-wrenching scenes have emerged from the affected villages.
In Devighat village in Nuwakot district, people moved through thick mud and debris in search of their possessions. Damaged structures and uprooted electricity poles stood amid the wreckage, while vehicles remained buried in the mud.
A woman sat beside scattered corn, while another, carrying a child, walked past damaged structures and a dead dog. A man carrying a gas cylinder made his way through the debris-covered area – the only belonging he could salvage from the wreckage. An aerial view showed damaged structures stretching alongside a swollen river, underlining the scale of destruction caused by the floods.
In Trishuli, an Army relief camp has emerged as a major support centre for people affected by the disaster. Army personnel were seen helping elderly people and children, while makeshift medical facilities treated the injured. The camps were also providing information on those missing, dead and rescued. More than 15,000 security personnel have been mobilised for search and rescue operations. An 11-member Indian team comprising medical personnel and tunnel rescue experts also arrived in Nepal to assist local authorities.
Around 4,500 people have been rescued so far, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said on Saturday, adding that the country remains on “high alert”. With the country’s meteorology department indicating the possibility of moderate rainfall, the task facing rescuers is expected to become even more difficult.
Yet, for a country that has faced similar disasters before, the focus remains on searching for the missing, helping the survivors and beginning the long task of rebuilding.
