Floods and landslides kill at least 65 people in Nepal and displace thousands

More than 1,446 have been rescued from across Nepal, with a further 30 people identified as missing, the Nepal Police said Monday morning. Search and rescue efforts have been stepped up, with multiple federal agencies and the Nepalese Army mobilized.

A Nepalese man wades through a flooded street in Kathmandu, Nepal, on July 12, 2019.

Images on social media of the worst-hit areas, including the mountainous Kathmandu Valley and the lowland Terai region on the southern border next to India, show roads and cars submerged in muddy water. Some residents appear trapped in their homes, sheltering on rooftops as floodwater washes past their doorsteps. Those who do attempt escape carry bundles of belongings on their heads as they wade through chest-deep water.

Meanwhile, rescue teams work to evacuate residents, pushing inflatable dinghies through flooded streets and helping children and the elderly to safer areas.

A Nepalese soldier moves an elderly man to a safer area in Kathmandu on July 12, 2019.

The monsoon rains began on Thursday, inundating low-lying towns and villages, and displacing more than 11,000 households, with tens of thousands evacuated after major rivers swelled to dangerous levels, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Regions of Nepal on the southern border, like the Bara District, have seen more than 400 millimeters of rain in the past few days, according to satellite estimates. The rain is still pouring, with some western areas expected to receive up to 250 millimeters in the next 48 hours, said the Nepal Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.

A man walks past gas cylinders in a flooded colony in Kathmandu, Nepal on July 12, 2019.

Monsoon rains have also led to floods and rescue operations in Indian states south of the Nepal border, including Assam, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.

The monsoon rains bring both relief and disaster every year -- they bring much-needed water to drought-hit regions, but the sudden downpours also trigger floods and landslides, especially fatal in areas without sufficient water storage infrastructure.

An Indian woman near the debris of her house in the state of Assam, on July 13, 2019.

In 2017, Nepal had some of the heaviest monsoon rain in recent years, with floods killing at least 143 people and damaging nearly 80,000 houses. Another severe monsoon season in 2014 killed over 100 people in Nepal, and displaced more than 17,000 families.

Indian cities also face deadly monsoon floods almost every year. Dozens have died just this month in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, with houses and transport hubs washed away.

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