Monsoon floods hit Nepal and northern India
The death toll from days of landslides and flooding in Nepal and India has risen to nearly 200, with scores more missing. Helpers are sending food, tents and medicine as fears grow of a possible outbreak of diseases.
Submerged villages
Torrential rains in the Himalayas have triggered multiple landslides and flooding, devastating entire villages, stranding thousands and damaging roads across Nepal and the country's western plains bordering India. The worst-hit areas were in western Nepal and northern India, where swirling floodwaters swept away homes made of mud and straw.
Dozens killed
At least 100 people have died in Nepal and 84 in neighboring India since August 14 due to the heavy rains, authorities said, adding that the situation in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh worsened after dams were opened in Nepal.
No shelter
Along with incessant rain, the rising waters caused several rivers to breach their banks and flood surrounding farmland, where the villagers are mostly poor. Thousands of people have been left without shelter and cut off from the rest of the country since.
Fear of cholera
Authorities fear the lack of clean drinking water, food and sanitation could lead to outbreak of cholera, dysentery and encephalitis. "We are concerned about water-borne diseases spreading, especially cholera, and have deployed health personnel to distribute water purification tablets and medicines," said Jhanka Nath Dhakal of the National Emergency Operation Center.
Delivering aid
Rescuers were also attempting to reach the villages by road. However, most of the highways and rural roads are either submerged or damaged by the flooding, preventing vehicles from passing.
Monsoon season
The June-September monsoon season often brings flooding to Nepal and neighboring India, taking a heavy toll both in terms of human lives and destruction of agricultural crops and property. Last year, more than 6,000 people were killed as floods and landslides swept through Uttarakhand state during the season.
Deadly landslide
A lack of rain earlier in the monsoon season had led to fears of drought, but all that changed. Earlier this month, the rains caused what is regarded as Nepal's worst landslide in more than a decade. The masses of earth, rock and debris covered an entire village near Kathmandu, killing 156 people.