Authorities in Nepal are issuing warnings of potential new flooding and have urged residents in affected districts to remain on high alert as water levels in the Bhotekoshi River have risen. Flood warning notices were sent to mobile phones on Sunday.
Rescue crews are working to clear a major highway that connects Kathmandu to some of the areas most severely impacted by catastrophic floods that occurred on Wednesday. In the town of Galchhi, residents gathered on a bridge to watch the river, which carried large rocks and debris from the earlier floods. Warnings were issued to individuals on a suspension bridge over the water.
Entire homes, vehicles, and farm tractors are visible submerged in thick sediment along the riverbanks in the most heavily impacted flood zones. Landslides have also affected rice terraces near the river, causing sections of fields to collapse into the water.
The combined death toll in Nepal and Tibet has risen to 750, with over 3,000 people reported missing. Nepal’s disaster agency stated that the death toll in the country had reached 734, with 2,498 missing. Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 missing, including individuals from Nepal and over a dozen other countries.
Chinese authorities notified their Nepalese counterparts about an increase in water flow upstream, according to Dharam Raj Uprety, chief executive of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. However, residents in flood-hit villages described experiencing frequent alarms since the initial floods, leading to exhaustion and difficulty in repeatedly seeking higher ground.
"Sometimes they say a flood is coming, then we have to run again to higher ground, even at night. There is also rain," said local resident Govind Shreshta. "It’s really difficult for me. I have a 72-year-old father and 70-year-old mom. I must carry them and I am exhausted. It’s going on like this for those who are still alive."
Destruction of concrete and suspension bridges has left communities on opposite sides of the river with limited access to each other. "Those that are there are now stuck there. Those who are here are stuck here. It’s going to be very difficult," said Sattan Singh Tamang, who was working near a bridge when Wednesday’s floods occurred.
Homes and businesses that were not destroyed by the flooding remained without electricity on Sunday, with power lines tangled in the mud. The Prithivi Highway, a vital supply route for food, fuel, and other goods entering Kathmandu, is mostly operational, but some sections still require repairs.