Nepal resumes flood relief efforts as thousands still missing, finance minister calls for $4-5 billion in recovery | Today’s news
Nepal resumed search and rescue operations on Saturday after a brief weather-related interruption as authorities searched for nearly 3,000 people missing following devastating floods that have killed hundreds of people and hit the region bordering Tibet.
Nepal renews bailout, calls for $5 billion in recovery
The impoverished Himalayan nation of 30 million people has asked for expert foreign aid, and its finance minister told Reuters it would also need about $4 billion to $5 billion to rebuild after the disaster.
A torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris, triggered by the collapse of a glacier, rushed through mountain river systems on Wednesday, killing at least 669 people in Nepal and seven in China’s Tibet, and sweeping away buildings, bridges and power plants.
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The floods in Nepal were caused by the collapse of a glacier that swept mountain river systems with a stream of rock, ice, mud and debris.
Nearly 3,000 people are currently missing, including about 2,426 in Nepal and 554 in Tibet, including at least 540 foreign nationals.
Nepal’s finance minister estimated that flood recovery would cost between $4 billion and $5 billion.
The search and rescue operation was temporarily halted due to adverse weather conditions, including rain and fog, which reduced visibility and safety.
Authorities are collecting DNA samples from recovered bodies to aid in identification, especially those that are decomposed and unrecognizable.
Nearly 3,000 people are still missing, including about 2,426 in Nepal and 554 in Tibet’s Gyirong district, among them at least 540 foreign nationals, many of them Hindu pilgrims from India.
Decomposed, unrecognizable bodies to be buried
Search and rescue operations were temporarily halted due to rain and fog but resumed later in the afternoon, a police officer in the hard-hit Rasuwa district said.
“Helicopters are flying and operations have resumed after some improvement in the weather,” he said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
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Authorities also suspended rescue operations on Friday as a lake that formed on the Nepal-China border after a flood started spilling into Nepal’s Lhende Khola and Trishuli rivers.
By Saturday, the risk had eased and parts of the lake bed were visible, Chinese authorities and state broadcaster CCTV said. Satellite images indicated that water was slowly draining from the lake, gradually reducing its size, CCTV said.
The lake is one of two upstream of the flood zone that Nepal monitors. Flood risks will persist until both are fully drained, the official warned.
Three days after the disaster, authorities said some of the bodies that were recovered had decomposed beyond recognition. They would be buried after legal formalities due to health risks and fear of disease outbreaks.
“DNA samples will be taken and the bodies will be buried in the open,” the Chitwan district administration said in a statement.
Families search for their missing
In Kathmandu, families of missing people gathered outside the Maharajgunj Medical Complex, where some of the bodies were taken. Many tried to identify relatives from photographs of bodies displayed at gates and border walls.
In Malaysia, the families of 91 citizens who were marked as “uncontactable” in Tibet and Nepal were also awaiting news.
Read also | Nepal Glacier Collapse Caught on Camera; A Chinese expert confirmed the location
Manivannan Rethinam, a representative of some of them, urged the State Department to establish a communication channel for faster updates, saying the lack of information was “deeply painful” for relatives waiting for news.
Malaysia’s foreign ministry said search and rescue and verification efforts were continuing.
The suffering is far from over for the survivors as they face the task of rebuilding their lives.
Saraswati Ghale, 43, said her house was destroyed by the flood. She recalled scrambling up the hill when the water hit and shook the ground “like there was an earthquake.”
“I have nothing (left) … I am saved, but who knows how things will turn out,” she said.
Nepal’s Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle told Reuters that the government’s initial estimate was that the rebuild would cost $4 billion to $5 billion.
“It’s just an estimate. The losses and damages will be calculated,” he said.
Technical assistance goes to Nepal
Nepal’s foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, said the country did not need help with search and rescue, but required expert help in rescuing people trapped in tunnels, restoring transport and communication lines where bridges were destroyed, identifying bodies, conducting DNA tests and storing bodies for longer periods.
“We have already requested such specialized services and technical assistance in areas where we do not have sufficient expertise and technical know-how,” he told Reuters late on Friday.
A team of Indian tunneling experts arrived in Nepal on Saturday, he said, while China’s Xinhua News Agency reported that Beijing had sent five tunneling experts to support rescue efforts and four others were expected to join them.
India has already sent three flights with 60 tons of humanitarian supplies, including blankets, medicine and food.
The State Department also said it offered disaster response personnel, prefabricated bridges and engineering teams to help restore connectivity.
Chinese authorities are also racing to trace more than 500 people who are still missing after the floods.
Read also | Jaishankar receives Indian pilgrims from Nepal, evaluates rescue operations
Rescuers reached the worst-hit Gyirong border crossing complex on Friday, using ropes to navigate forests and cliffs after roads leading to the site were destroyed.
In bleak and rainy conditions on Saturday morning, more than 50 rescuers combed the rubble of boulders and mud, searching for signs of life and calling for survivors, CCTV reported.
Surveillance footage from the crossing showed torrents of water and debris engulfing buildings as the flood hit as people tried to flee.
