Nepal: At least 14 dead in landslides, floods triggered by heavy rains

At least 14 people have died and dozens of others were left injured after landslides and floods swept across Nepal. The Himalayan country is seeing an exceptionally high number of deaths due to the ongoing monsoons, with 14 deaths reported over the last 24 hours.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRMA) under the Ministry of Home Affairs in Nepal, eight out of the 14 people have been killed in landslides, while five were killed due to lightning and one due to floods.

"We recorded a total of 44 incidents on June 26, 2024. In those incidents 14 people have lost their lives, 8 were due to landslide, 5 due to lightning and 1 in flooding. 2 people are still unaccounted for in the incident of landslide while 10 people have sustained injuries," Dijan Bhattarai, Spokesperson at the NDRMA told ANI over the phone.

The highest number of deaths was reported on Wednesday, when one landslide claimed five lives in Lamjung, two in Kaski and one in Okhaldhunga while one death has been recorded by the Home Ministry in the incident of flooding.

As per the record from the Nepal home ministry, a total of 28 people have lost lives in the past 17 days (till June 26, 2024), since the activation of the monsoon climatic effect in the himalayan nation. Along with this, 33 districts have been affected due to the monsoon recording a total of 147 incidents induced within 17 days.

Over the last 17 days, at least 13 people have lost their lives due to lightning, while 14 people died due to landslides. Monsoon arrived on time in Nepal this year, and mortality rate due to heavy rainfall remains high in the country.

Nepal is expecting the monsoon to formally gather over its geography from June 13 and remain active for about three months. Over time, the government has estimated that as many as 1.8 million people could be affected by rain-related incidents during the season.

Every year, tens of thousands of people are affected by floods in Nepal, while hundreds are displaced due to landslides and destruction of property.