Death toll rises to 170 in Nepal after heavy rains; search and rescue operation underway

By Binod Prasad Adhikari
Kathmandu [Nepal], September 29 : The death toll in Nepal has risen to 170 after torrential rain combined with a devastating series of floods, and landslides pounded the Himalayan nation on Saturday.
The search and rescue operations are underway across the nation.
The trails of damage are visible within a few meters, after crossing the major entry point, the Thankot Check Post, from where small landslides, uprooted trees and debris are clearly visible to explain the situation.
The 6.8-kilometre road section falling on the Tribhuvan Highway has been blocked due to a mudslide that has buried multiple vehicles, whose number is yet to be ascertained and bodies being taken out from the debris.
"We are suspecting four buses were buried in the debris, three already are visible and we are excavating another one as well," Gautam KC, Chief of the Dhading District Police, told ANI.

Excavators are working turn by turn searching for the remains of buses as they were buried by a mudslide that ran down the hill, sweeping a few passenger buses in pitch dark. The rescuers and searchers are only able to find the dead bodies buried beneath the debris, which are being transported to the capital Kathmandu for autopsy and handover to the families.
"A joint team from Kathmandu and Dhading Police is conducting the search and excavation of the dead bodies from the debris. All the security agencies--the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police are working together. We retrieved 14 dead bodies yesterday (September 28) and till afternoon today (September 29), we have retrieved 13 more bodies; we are still continuing the search operation and we are working on it in coordination with the authorities and families of those riding on the buses from various districts by establishing a desk here at the site. Families and relatives who are arriving are taking part in the identification process," police official KC told ANI.
The rescue team till late evening today retrieved a total of 35 bodies, with more to be recovered from the mud. As the search operation continues, thousands of vehicles have been left stranded along the highway watching the search operation with fear of traveling by road in Nepal.
Currently, over a hundred security personnel are working in the disaster site round the clock, "We have a manpower of about one hundred who are involved in the search operation," Police Chief KC added.
The rescuers on Saturday evening, after the rain had receded, retrieved 14 bodies from a winger with registration number LU 1 KHA 4578 that was en route to Kathmandu from Butwal. On Sunday, 21 more bodies were recovered from the disaster site from two additional vehicles.
The security personnel had retrieved 16 bodies from a microbus that departed from Chitwan and 5 bodies from a bus that had started off its journey from Gorkha District.
The vehicular movement across Nepal through the major highways has been stalled since early Saturday morning, forcing goods carrying vehicles to park themselves on the roadside.
Home to the world's nine of the 10 highest peaks in the world, Nepal this year already had estimated more rain than average and 1.8 million people will be affected. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) also estimated 412 thousand households to be affected by monsoon-related disasters.
The monsoon season in the Himalayan nation generally begins on June 13. The exit, which was usually on September 23, has been extended to late October. This year, the clouds from the south entered Nepal from the western region on June 10, three days ahead of the usual onset date. Last year, the weather phenomenon started on June 14, a day after the normal onset day.
The monsoon period, which delivers around 80 per cent of the country's total annual rainfall, generally lasts 105 days. But, in recent years, it has been taking more time to withdraw.
Nepal has already recorded above-average rainfall this season. According to the Met Office data, the country received 1,586.3 millimetres of rainfall as of Friday morning since the monsoon entered on June 10, 107.2 per cent -7.2 per cent above the average monsoon rainfall.
Normally, the country receives an average of 1,472 mm of rainfall in the four months: June, July, August, and September. Last year the country witnessed only 1,303 mm of rainfall in the season, 88.5 per cent of the average.