Nepal PM Balendra Shah holds cabinet meeting on flood devastation

A Nepal Cabinet meeting discussed flood relief after a disaster in Rasuwa killed 469. The army is conducting rescues, including at a hydropower tunnel. A new flood alert is active, and 26 Gujarati tourists are reported missing.

A Cabinet meeting convened by Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah began at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar on Friday.

The meeting has been called to take important decisions regarding the damage caused by the devastating flood in the Bhotekoshi area of Rasuwa on the 10th, as well as rescue, relief and reconstruction efforts, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Nepal stated on Facebook.

The Cabinet is expected to discuss measures to make relief operations in the flood-affected areas more effective and accelerate the reconstruction of damaged physical infrastructure.

Scale of the Disaster and Death Toll

The crisis stems from a catastrophic flash flood that struck the Tibet-Nepal border on August 26, sending a powerful surge of water, sediment, and boulders through the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems and leaving widespread devastation in its wake.

Nepal is currently grappling with the aftermath of the major flash flood that struck the Rasuwa district on Wednesday morning.

According to Nepal Police, the overall death toll due to the disaster has risen to 469 on Friday, while 1,545 people were injured and rescued. The Chitwan district recorded the highest death toll with 178 bodies recovered, followed by 110 in NP East, 44 in Gorkha, 37 in Nuwakot, 33 in Dhading, 28 in Tanahun, 27 in NP West, and 12 in Rasuwa.

Rescue Operations Underway

Authorities have successfully rescued 644 people from Rasuwa, 898 from Nuwakot, and three from Dhading.

Army Intensifies Hydropower Tunnel Rescue

In another post, the PMO stated that the Nepali Army has intensified rescue operations since early this morning to evacuate people trapped inside the tunnel of a hydropower project in Rasuwa following flooding.

"Despite the challenging terrain and hazardous conditions, the Nepali Army rescue team has so far safely rescued two people from the tunnel. A search is underway to determine how many people remain trapped inside, with efforts continuing to evacuate them," the PMO said.

"Despite the difficult conditions inside the tunnel, the Army has deployed technical equipment and specially trained personnel to continue the search and rescue operation for those still believed to be trapped," it added.

New Flood Alert After Quake in China

Earlier, an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hit Sichuan in China on Friday, prompting another flood alert in Nepal.

The Trishuli area of Nepal is being evacuated again as a heavy flow of water from above has threatened to raise the river's water level, Nepal Police stated.

The earthquake jolted Longchang City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, CGTN reported.

Issuing an alert, Nepal Police said that a dam on the Tibet side has burst again. "Information has been received that the water dam on the Tibet side has burst again. Therefore, all security personnel, rescue workers involved in rescue and relief operations, and the general public are requested to remain immediately alert and move to safe locations or notify others," Nepal Police posted on X.

Leader of Opposition in the House of Representatives, Bhishma Raj Angdembe, said that Nepal's army is continuing the rescue operations despite geographical challenges. He told reporters in Trishuli, "The geographical terrain here makes the weather conditions unfavourable for operations, yet our army and all our helicopter teams are fully engaged in the effort. Given the conditions upstream, we are taking immediate action--the federal, provincial, and local governments are all working together. There are two army helicopters, along with others from the private sector, all deployed in the operation. We are utilising every resource available to us. We are keeping everyone informed, and our security agencies are issuing advisories urging people to stay safe."

Work on the road being built from Trishuli to Rasuka has been temporarily halted. All JCB machines have been recalled, and all road construction work has been stopped.

26 Gujarati Tourists Uncontactable

Meanwhile, the number of Gujaratis stranded and uncontactable after flash floods in Nepal has risen to 26, officials said on Friday.

According to data compiled by the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) till 7:45 am on August 28, the figure has increased from 12 to 18 and now to 26.

District-wise breakup of those missing is: Ahmedabad - 5, Anand - 5, Gandhinagar - 4, Surat - 3, Kheda - 3, Vadodara - 2, Amreli - 2, Rajkot - 1, Valsad - 1. Total - 26.

Officials said that among the 26, as many as 17 are foreign nationals of Indian origin, including 9 Americans, 5 Canadians, 1 Australian and 2 New Zealanders, while the rest are Indian citizens, mostly from Ahmedabad and Anand.

Some of the stranded tourists were near the Nepal-Tibet border. Among them are Pareshbhai Patel, Jyotiben Patel and Meenakshiben Ramani from Surat, who had left for Nepal on August 23. Their last location was traced near the Nepal-Tibet border, after which contact was lost.

According to information received, some tourists from Gandhinagar had travelled to Nepal through a trekking planner, while two tourists from Anand had gone for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via Himalayan Glacier and Adventure and have been uncontactable since.

The SEOC has listed all 26 as 'missing/uncontactable' and the state administration is coordinating with central agencies and monitoring efforts to establish contact and trace their whereabouts.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)