By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – At least 43 people have died and another 30 are missing after three days of heavy rainfall triggered landslides and flash floods in Nepal, police said on Wednesday.
Police spokesman Basanta Kunwar said more than two dozen people have been injured and are undergoing treatment in local hospitals across the mostly mountainous country.
Persistent heavy rains were hampering efforts to reach to a village in west Nepal where 60 people have been marooned by flood waters for two days at Seti village, about 350 km (220 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu.
“Rescuers were unable to reach the village due to bad weather and continuous rains yesterday. Rescue efforts are continuing today,” Kunwar told Reuters.
Television channels showed footage of rice paddy crops submerged or washed away and flooded rivers sweeping away bridges, roads and houses.
Flash floods and landslides are common in Nepal during the monsoon season that normally lasts from mid-June through September every year.
Authorities have warned of more rainfall in the next few days.
There are “chances of heavy rainfall in some places and light to moderate snowfall” in the eastern mountainous areas, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said in a forecast for the next two days.
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
