Nepal flood : 734 killed; Bhotekoshi river swells again

The water levels in the Bhotekoshi River rose again on Sunday, days after a devastating flash flood struck Nepal, authorities warned, urging residents and rescue personnel in flood-hit districts to remain alert.

The death toll from the August 26 flash floods crossed 700 on Sunday, while nearly 2,500 remain missing.

The disaster, believed to have been triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border, devastated towns and villages in central Nepal.

The Bhotekoshi River, which flows south from the Himalayan border region, carried the floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects.

In a statement, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) warned that water levels in the river had risen again.

"The water level in the flooded Bhotekoshi River has risen to some extent; all concerned are urged to take precautionary measures," the NDRRMA said on Sunday.

The agency said it will provide updates on the situation after receiving additional information.

Bodies continued to be recovered in the Himalayan nation after the flash floods as search and rescue operations press ahead amid intermittent rainfall and rising water levels.

Nearly 2,500 people, including 320 foreigners, remain missing following the disaster, according to authorities. The disaster also left seven dead and more than 500 missing on the Chinese side.

The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi on Saturday said that more than 275 Indians and 128 persons of Indian origin remained missing or non-contactable, while 108 others were rescued following the flash floods.

Meanwhile, the Nepalese government has mobilised nearly 20,000 security personnel for search and rescue operations, while helicopters have been making repeated sorties to evacuate stranded people and deliver relief supplies.

Nepal Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal on Saturday said more than 4,500 people were rescued, and search and rehabilitation operations are ongoing, even as the country remains on "high-alert".

Nepal's meteorology department on Saturday warned of fresh rainfall and thunderstorms in the country's flash flood-affected areas, threatening to disrupt ongoing rescue and relief operations amid the worsening crisis.

Transport services have been halted along the Prithvi Highway, a vital roadway linking capital city Kathmandu to Pokhara and western Nepal.

A section of the road was washed away by the Trishuli River at Krishnabhir. Officials said the highway's reopening would take some time, and urged people to use an alternative way for their travel.

Hundreds of workers are believed to be trapped in around a dozen hydropower project sites in the flood-affected areas. Nepali security forces have so far rescued 191 of them even as many still remain non-contactable.

An 11-member team from India is assisting the rescue operations of the trapped workers.

At the Trishuli hydropower project site, Nepalese security personnel, with the assistance of Indian tunnel experts, continued efforts to evacuate those trapped by locating the tunnel's entrance even after Saturday midnight despite heavy rain throughout the night, according to Nepal Army sources.

According to the NDRRMA, 242 people injured in the Bhotekoshi flash floods were admitted to different hospitals, including Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital and Bir Hospital in Kathmandu and Rasuwa District Hospital in Dhunche till Saturday evening.

Nepal's government has distributed Nepalese Rupees (NPR) 10 million in cash to affected people in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, NPR 5 million to Dhading and NPR 67.5 million to different municipalities, according to Home Ministry sources.

So far, 37 trucks of food items and seven helicopters filled with food and non-food items have been dispatched to the affected areas. Two tonnes of food items were sent to Uttargaya and Dhunche in Rasuwa.

India has also provided 68.5 tonnes of relief materials and sent technical teams, forensic experts and equipment to assist in search and rescue operations, according to the Indian embassy.

The disaster is believed to have been triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock in the Himalayan region near the Nepal-Tibet border.

At least eight people from Assam have been rescued from Nepal, which was struck by a devastating flash flood on August 26, and are being brought back to the state, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The state government is coordinating with the authorities concerned to trace other missing people for bringing them back safely to Assam, he said in a social media post on Saturday.

"I just spoke to eight people from Assam, who have been safely rescued in Nepal," Sarma said.

The rescued persons -- Pankaj Verma, Samar Bezbaruah, Gautam Das, Gopal Debnath, Soneswar Narzary, Sarbison Marak, Silva Marak and Elphison Sangma -- are safe and will return home on Sunday, he added.

"Efforts are continuing to trace the others and ensure their safe return at the earliest," the CM said.

On Saturday, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said that 10 people from Assam were reported missing in Nepal since devastating flash floods struck the Himalayan country.

However, the several names Sarma mentioned as safely rescued in his social media post were not on the list of missing people shared by ASDMA.

As per the ASDMA list, the missing persons were Dr Dipali Sarkar, Pankaj Neog, Manash Kumar Ghosh, Rhituporno Brahma, Montri Basumatary, Someswar Narzary, Arun Nath, Dr Tirtha Chaliha, Rahul Daimary and Shatadal Nath.

Among the missing, three each are from Kamrup Metropolitan and Karbi Anglong, two from Nalbari, and one each from Golaghat and Hojai districts.

Earlier, the ASDMA had reported that 12 people from the state were missing in the Nepal floods. Later, it said that the family members of two persons from Nalbari have confirmed that they are safe.

The death toll from flash floods in central Nepal rose to 734 on Sunday, with more bodies being recovered even as nearly 2,500 people are still missing, including 85 security personnel and 320 foreigners, following the disaster.

The flash floods on Wednesday began after an ice-rock avalanche following a glacial collapse blocked the flow of the Lhende tributary of the Bhote Koshi River, with the resulting surge hitting Timure near Nepal's border with Tibet and causing widespread destruction downstream.

The torrent of water, mud and debris wiped out towns and villages, damaged crucial infrastructure and washed away hydropower stations throughout central Nepal.

 But for a casual tea break, five friends from Chhattisgarh might have been swept away in the flash floods that tore through Nepal's Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river valleys.

Their brief pause turned into a narrow escape from the disaster that unfolded on Wednesday, and the group then endured two tense days taking shelter on higher ground, spending nights in a rented car and watching the swollen Trishuli river rage below.

Amid the grim situation, the most comforting moment came when local women security personnel tied rakhis on their wrists to mark Raksha Bandhan.

Narayan Sen, Dinesh Ojha, Prem Singh Jagat, Yatendra Prakash and Dinesh Singh Thakur, all aged between 50 and 60 years and residents of Mana Camp area in Raipur, returned home on Saturday.

"We were lucky that we stopped for tea on August 26 when the flash floods struck. If we had left 10-15 minutes earlier, we might have got trapped," 53-year-old Sen, who runs a salon, told PTI Videos.

"Had we not stopped there, we do not know what would have happened," he said.

The group left Raipur on August 21 and reached Nepal the following day. They had hired a car and were planning to visit the Pashupatinath Temple, Manokamana Temple and other tourist attractions.

At around 9.30-10 am on August 26, they stopped for tea at a hotel in Malekhu town of Dhading district.

"There we learnt that a bridge ahead had been washed away in a flood. The hotel belonged to an Indian, who helped us a lot and provided us food," Sen said.

The friends became eyewitnesses to an unfolding disaster.

"We saw cars being swept away in the Trishuli river. Bodies and a lot of other things were also being carried away by the current. We were scared. There was always a fear that the flood situation might worsen," Sen said.

The group took shelter at a higher spot at Malekhu and spent the night in their car. Local residents and authorities helped them.

Thakur (55), a police head constable, said they were around 50 km from Pashupatinath Temple when the flood struck.

"While having tea at the hotel, we noticed people suddenly becoming?? restive. Later, we learnt about the devastation caused by the flood. We heard that entire villages, buildings, offices and hydropower projects had been devastated," he said.

They later visited the bank of the Trishuli river to see the situation for themselves. "What we saw is very difficult to describe in words," said Thakur.

"We kept chanting Lord Shiva's name, and we feel his blessings protected us," he added.

Thakur praised the local administration and police. "There was no electricity and water, but the administration and police helped us. They told us that we were at a higher place and should not worry," he said.

The group remained in touch with their families through the internet, and used the helpline provided by the Indian government to share their location.

"Internet service was working well there, so we remained in contact with our families and did not panic," Thakur said.

The friends finally left Nepal on August 28.

Amid the tragedy, the five friends shared a tender moment when local women security personnel tied rakhis on their wrists.

"We were supposed to return from the trip after the Rakhi festival, so our sisters had already given us rakhis. The women security personnel deployed there tied these rakhis on our wrists. That was the most comforting moment," Thakur said.

Dinesh Ojha, who runs a tailoring shop, said the scenes they witnessed after the flood would stay with them forever.

"We will never be able to forget what we saw. Many people were desperately searching for their missing family members," he said.

"We slept in our car,??? but we could not really sleep. There was always the fear that another flood might come," Ojha said.

"We are happy that finally we have reached back home," he added.