Nepal flood highlights: Infosys executive Lax Gopisetty missing, death toll 579; 315 Indians uncontactable

Nepal floods LIVE: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that a little over 315 Indian tourists are still not in contact following the deadly flash floods in Nepal.

Nepal floods LIVE: The number of people dead in the Nepal floods has risen to 547.

Nepal floods LIVE: Parts of Bihar faced the threat of a deluge as water levels in the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi and Burhi Gandak rivers showed a rising trend following the devastating flash floods in neighbouring Nepal.

The Nepal floods were triggered after an ice-rock landslide blocked a river near the country's border with China. The floods have affected several districts and left at least 826 people missing, according to Nepal's disaster management authorities.

This has led to both Uttar Pradesh and Bihar administrations stepping up monitoring of their river systems downstream of the rivers of the Himalayan nation.

"The water levels of several rivers, including the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi and Burhi Gandak, have been rising following continuous rainfall in their catchment areas in Nepal.

"The rivers have touched or crossed the danger level at several places in the bordering districts," a senior official of the Water Resources Department said.

According to the department's bulletin on Friday, the Gandak, Kosi, Ganga, Burhi Gandak and Ghaghra rivers were flowing above the danger mark at many places in the state and have touched warning levels in some places.

via PTI

Nepal floods LIVE: The Office of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Gurugram has issued a public appeal urging citizens to come forward with information regarding any local residents who remain uncontactable or missing amid devastating floods in Nepal.

In an X post, the DC Gurugram issued the Control room number, emergency helpline number, and email ID to report any missing persons.

"In view of the recent flash floods in Nepal, citizens are requested to inform the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Gurugram if they have information about any person residing in Gurugram who may be missing or untraced in connection with the incident. Control Room: 112, Helpline: 0124-2320508, Email: ctmgrg@hry.nic.in," it said.

The post further added, "The information received will be compiled and shared with the concerned authorities to facilitate tracing, coordination and assistance to affected families. Citizens are requested to share this information widely and help ensure that timely assistance reaches those in need."

Nepal floods LIVE: Four bodies were recovered from a river in Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj district after they apparently drifted into Indian territory from Nepal amid the ongoing flood situation, officials said on Friday.

The bodies were found in a severely decomposed state and have not yet been identified; they are currently being held at the mortuary of the Maharajganj district hospital.

Authorities are in contact with the Nepal administration to ascertain their identities and check whether they could be among those reported missing after the floods and landslides.

District Magistrate Gaurav Singh Sogarwal said, "Four bodies have so far been recovered and kept in the mortuary. We are in contact with the Nepal administration regarding the matter."

He noted that the flood threat has subsided as the water flow in the river has decreased, and added, "The situation in the area is normal at present."

via PTI

Nepal floods LIVE: Around 100 people of Indian-origin are uncontactable, says MEA

Nepal floods LIVE: India is planning to send a tunnel rescue team to flood-hit Nepal, apart from a medical team. The MEA said that rescue team was being sent on Nepal's request. A recce team is being flown in first to assess the equipment required etc, MEA said. “In addition, we have also offered Bailey bridges along with their associated technical teams so that connectivity can be restored quickly in the affected parts of Nepal. One Bailey bridge is already in Nepal and can be deployed for relief efforts,” it said.

Nepal floods LIVE: India is sending third tranche of relief and aid material to flood-hit Nepal, MEA said on Friday.
Two aircraft with relief material have left, and a third tranche of relief material is expected to leave this evening," it said.

Nepal floods LIVE: The death toll has surged to 538 as rescue operations continue after Wednesday's devastating floods.

Nepal floods LIVE: Morgues across several districts in Nepal are running out of space as bodies of people that died in the devastating flash floods continue to surface. At least 475 people have died in the floods that swept Bhotekoshi on Wednesday. Bodies that were swept downstream from Rasuwa and Nuwakot are being recovered as far away as Chitwan, Tanahun, Gorkha and Nawalparasi. Authorities have now set up temporary storage facilities to accommodate the victims' remains, Nepal daily, The Kathmandu Post, reported.

With morgues in Nuwakot, Dhading and Nawalparasi running out of capacity, authorities have transferred bodies to neighbouring districts, including Pokhara. Hospitals in Pokhara are also nearing their limits after bodies began arriving from several flood-hit areas.

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Nepal floods LIVE: More than 90,000 people are estimated to be directly affected by the Himalayan landslide and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, the Red Cross said on Friday, as aid officials voiced fears of further flooding.

"We believe that at least 93,000 people have been affected and are in great need," David Fisher, head of delegation for the International Federation ​of Red Cross and ​Red Crescent Societies in Nepal, told a Geneva press briefing.

"We're of course very concerned about the secondary flood," he added.

Fisher said that the organisation's trucks with relief supplies were blocked after a lake formed by the landslide broke its banks, temporarily halting rescue operations.

Kamal Kishore, Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, warned of further "cascading hazards that might unfold".

"In a sense, the disaster is not yet completely over. It is still unfolding in some ways," he said.

World Health Organization spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said at the same briefing that six health facilities had been damaged in the landslide and that eight healthcare workers were missing.

"Following a disaster of this scale, displacement, overcrowding and disruption to water, sanitation and health services can increase the risk of infectious diseases, including diarrhoea and respiratory illnesses," he said.

via Reuters

Nepal floods LIVE: Nepal disaster management official has warned that the flood risk will loom till the two lakes are fully drained. Battered by a flash flood on Wednesday, the Himalayan region faces risk of another flood following lake surge.

Nepal floods LIVE: Indian authorities recovered seven bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal, believed to be victims of devastating floods, officials said Friday, underscoring the scale of the deadly disaster.

The bodies were found floating in rivers in the Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts of Uttar Pradesh state, which borders Nepal's southern flood-hit Chitwan region.

"Four unidentified bodies were recovered in the district on Thursday," Maharajganj district magistrate Gaurav Singh Sogarwal told AFP.

"We think they have been swept into India from Nepal following flash floods there."

Three more bodies were recovered in Kushinagar district, around 70 kilometres (43 miles) downstream from the frontier, a police official confirmed.

via AFP

Nepal floods LIVE: A lake formed by a landslide on the Nepal-China border started to overflow on Friday, triggering panic and putting at risk areas devastated by a flash flood two days ago as rescue efforts were briefly halted.

Wednesday's catastrophic flood caused by a glacier collapse killed 489 people in Nepal and five in China's Tibet, with almost 1,000 more missing in the two countries.

A huge torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris cascaded through Himalayan mountain river systems after the collapse, and also led to the formation of a lake where water continued to collect and rise.

On Friday, the lake's reservoir had topped 2.5 million cubic metres of water, up from the estimated 1.5-2 million cubic metres recorded a day earlier, before overflowing into the Bhotekoshi River, authorities and witnesses in Nepal said.

“We have received a notice saying that the lake has broken its banks," Narendra Pariyar, the most senior bureaucrat in Nepal's flood-hit Rasuwa district, told Reuters. "But we do not know how big it is and how high is its water level. We can see that the level of water in the river is rising.”

People ran to higher ground carrying belongings as announcements were made warning them to stay away from the river and police personnel remained on standby with ropes and stretchers, Reuters witnesses said.

"Everyone started saying 'run', so I ran. The siren in Bidur (town) also went off. I was very scared," Shanti Tamang, 40, told Reuters.

Rescue workers were also asked to move to safer places along with their equipment.

via Reuters

Nepal floods LIVE: A total of 117 tourists have been rescued from flood-affected areas in Nepal, the Nepal Tourism Board said. The group includes 85 Indians, 16 Chinese, nine South Koreans, two Americans and two Italians, while three others remain unidentified.

Nepal floods LIVE: The Nepali Army has deployed an additional 1,200 personnel to speed up the search for missing people and recovery of bodies following the devastating Bhote Koshi floods in Rasuwa.

The troops have been deployed along riverbanks from Rasuwa to Chitwan, taking the total number of Army personnel involved in rescue, relief and body recovery operations to 2,800.

Nepal floods LIVE: A Red Cross official in Nepal said the organisation was “very concerned” about the risk of a secondary flood as authorities continue rescue and relief operations following the devastating flash floods.

Nepal floods LIVE: Bihar's Gopalganj district magistrate Sameer Saurabh said there is no threat of flooding in the district after waters from Nepal passed through the Gandak River without causing damage. He said around 1.5 lakh cusecs had entered the district, but the embankments held firm. The administration is continuing round-the-clock monitoring and has completed preparations for flood management.

His full statement: “As you are aware, Nepal experienced flash floods just a few days ago, and that water has since passed through Gopalganj. At that time, approximately 1.5 lakh cusecs of water entered our district; however, our embankments held firm and remained robust, so there was no adverse impact.”

He said, “The water has now receded. Currently, the discharge from the Valmikinagar Barrage is around 1 lakh cusecs, which is a routine occurrence. We are continuously carrying out embankment maintenance and monitoring work throughout the monsoon season, and night patrols are conducted regularly to ensure there is no dangerous pressure on the embankments and to keep the district safe...people should not panic but simply remain alert. Should the water levels rise, we will inform the public well in advance so they can move to higher ground.”

"Nepal flash flood water entered Bihar via the Gandak River. The floodwaters have already passed through the Gandak River. The current situation is normal. There is no threat of any kind, and no threat is anticipated in the future. All preparations for flood management have been completed," Sameer Saurabh said.

Nepal floods LIVE: A 16-km queue of cargo trucks has formed at the Sonauli border in Uttar Pradesh as Nepal’s flash floods disrupt cross-border trade.

Damaged and flooded roads have delayed vehicles headed to Kathmandu and other parts of Nepal. (PTI)

Nepal floods LIVE: Twenty-eight pilgrims from Visakhapatnam had a narrow escape during the Nepal floods after a landslide struck near the China border. The group, travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, was delayed by a brief stop before their vehicle reached the bridge, allowing the driver to move them to higher ground after a landslide hit.

The pilgrims later reached Kathmandu and were reported safe. Their families are relieved, while the group is expected to return home late Friday.

Nepal floods LIVE: China’s President Xi Jinping has offered assistance to Nepal’s rescue efforts following the devastating floods along the Nepal-Tibet border, Chinese state media reported.

Nepal floods LIVE: Nepal PM Balendra Shah and his ministers will donate one month’s salary to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund following the devastating floods. The Cabinet also approved the purchase of 25,000 metric tonnes of DAP fertiliser from India through a government-to-government deal.

The Finance Ministry has been asked to prepare a relief and rehabilitation package for flood-hit individuals and businesses. The decisions came as Nepal faces concerns over fresh flooding following the reported breach of a barrier lake near the China border.

Nepal floods LIVE: China said five people have died and 558 remain missing after flooding along its border with Nepal in Tibet. Chinese authorities said the disaster may have been triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse in Nepal.

Nepal Police also warned that a water dam on the Tibet side had reportedly burst again, putting rescue teams and residents on high alert. Scientists said the floods highlight the growing risk of glacier-related disasters in the warming Himalayas, although it is too early to directly link the event to climate change. (AP)

Nepal floods LIVE: A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Sichuan in southwest China.

Nepal floods LIVE: Nepal Police said Friday that 475 bodies have been recovered from the devastating Bhotekoshi floods, while rescue operations continue. Authorities have also evacuated people from Trishuli and halted road and other work amid warnings of rising water levels and possible fresh flooding.

Police said 1,545 people have been rescued, while the Nepal Tourism Board reported 667 tourists and travellers remain missing, including 127 Nepali residents. The Nepali Army has also rescued two workers trapped inside a hydropower tunnel in Rasuwa. (Kathmandu Post)