Kathmandu, Sep 2: Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday called for stronger international attention to growing climate-related risks in the Himalayan region as the death toll from devastating floods in the Bhotekoshi River crossed 1,100.

Addressing the House of Representatives, Shah said Nepal must highlight more forcefully the disasters it is facing due to climate change.

At least 1,114 bodies swept away by last week’s floods had been recovered by 9 am Wednesday, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA). Around 3,916 people remain out of contact.

Experts said an avalanche blocked the Lengde Khola, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi River near the Nepal-China border. The accumulated water later breached the natural barrier, triggering a massive flood that swept downstream towards the Trishuli River and devastated settlements and infrastructure.

Shah said the disaster had raised questions about how such an event occurred and what it meant for Nepal’s future.

“The huge disaster, whose impacts of climate change we have suddenly experienced, has kept us working around the clock to manage the damage. At the same time, another profound question has arisen in our minds: How did this disaster come upon us?” he said.

Referring to expert assessments, Shah said the incident was a serious warning that climate change was increasing risks in the Himalayan region.

“We must make the international community aware of the disasters we are experiencing as a result of climate change. Climate change is a global challenge. Its impacts and efforts to mitigate and manage them are the shared responsibility of the global community,” he said.

Shah also defended the government’s response to questions over whether timely warnings were issued to the public.

“As soon as we received information that the flood was approaching, our security personnel were deployed to alert residents. However, they themselves went missing during the operation,” he said.

Some media reports had suggested that the Nepali government was reluctant to accept international assistance for the rescue and relief of flood victims.

Seven days after the disaster, Shah told Parliament that the government had never adopted a policy of refusing international assistance during major disasters.

“We had been coordinating with international countries from the very beginning to seek assistance as needed in the affected areas. We had also tried to expedite the process of receiving international assistance,” Shah said.

“Our friendly neighbours, India and China, had already sent technical experts. They had been conducting reconnaissance from the very first day, including on the first and second days,” he said.

Shah told Parliament that the flood was accompanied by huge amounts of mud and debris, making it impossible for even foreign rescue teams that arrived at the outset to land at the affected sites.

“After conducting reconnaissance and monitoring to determine whether they could reach the sites, they concluded that it was not immediately possible to land there. The Indian and Chinese technicians, along with Nepali technicians and the Army, could reach the sites only after conditions became suitable for them to do so,” Shah said. “This was an exceptional situation.”

The Prime Minister also said excavators could not be deployed initially because of the heavy mud and debris.

“There was no stable ground not only for excavators but also for personnel from the Army and Armed Police Force. That is why they tried to reach the sites by crawling as much as possible,” Shah said.“Rescue operations began only after stable ground was available for excavators and suitable places were available for helicopters to land.”

Shah also thanked countries and international organisations for supporting Nepal’s flood response, naming India, China, the US, the UK, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the UAE, Qatar, Switzerland, Singapore, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, European Union and United Nations.

Several other friendly countries and international organisations have also pledged further assistance, he said.

Kathmandu, Sep 2: The death toll from the devastating floods in Rasuwa and surrounding districts has crossed the 1,100 mark, according to the latest search, rescue and relief update released by Nepali authorities on Wednesday morning.

As many as 1,114 bodies swept away by last week’s deadly floods had been recovered by 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said.

The highest number of bodies had been recovered in southern Chitwan district, with 348, followed by Nawalparasi East with 217, Nawalparasi West with 190, Nuwakot with 155, Gorkha with 66, Dhading with 59, Rasuwa with 41 and Tanahun with 38. The figures include body parts recovered from different locations.

Authorities said 95 bodies have so far been identified and handed over to their relatives.

According to the NDRRMA, 3,916 people remain out of contact, including government employees, security personnel, elected representatives, foreign nationals, Nepalis accompanying foreign tourists, local residents and workers employed at hydropower projects.

However, there is a discrepancy between the figures released by the NDRRMA and Nepal Police.

According to data provided by Nepal Police based on information collected until 8 a.m. Wednesday, 4,858 people, including 583 foreign nationals, remain out of contact.

Meanwhile, the whereabouts of many people reported missing from 11 flood-affected hydropower projects remain unknown, as rescue efforts have so far produced limited results.

According to the Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN), the status of 983 people associated with 11 hydropower projects along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river corridors in Rasuwa and Nuwakot remains unknown.

Nepali Army personnel, along with Indian and Chinese tunnel rescue teams, have been making efforts to reach deep inside tunnels at several hydropower projects to determine whether those reported missing can be located.

The private sector’s representative body for power developers said Tuesday evening that rescue efforts were continuing at projects including the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project (60 MW), Chilime Hydropower Project (22 MW), Langtang Khola Hydropower Project (20 MW), Trishuli 3B Hydropower Project (37 MW) and Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project (216 MW).

At the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project, 1,433 people were working when the floods struck, according to IPPAN.

Of them, 876 have either been rescued or have made contact.

Those still unaccounted for include 15 employees of the project company, 78 employees of EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor Doosan, 94 employees of Andritz Hydro, seven employees of consultant — the Joint Venture of Lahmeyer International GmbH and Jade Consult Pvt. Ltd, and 385 workers employed by civil subcontractor PowerChina, according to IPPAN.

The whereabouts of 91 people reported missing from the Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project (111 MW) remained unknown as of Tuesday.

A Nepali Army-led team conducted an on-site inspection on Monday and returned after reporting that it had found no one inside the powerhouse tunnel.

Kathmandu, Sep 1: Over 1000 people have now been confirmed dead following last week’s devastating floods in Nepal even as bodies swept away continue to pile up along riverbanks in different districts, on Tuesday.

The number of bodies recovered so far have reached 1003, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said in its latest update. The highest number of bodies — 321 — were recovered in southern Chitwan district, followed by 216 in Nawalparasi East.

According to the NDRRMA, as many as 3,916 people, including 583 foreign nationals, remain out of contact. Nepali Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police personnel, as well as other government employees, are among those reported missing.

As many as 639 people working at various hydropower projects along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river corridors have remained out of contact since last week’s disaster, according to the authority.

Government authorities said search, rescue and relief operations were continuing in the affected districts.

The authority said 279 people have been injured in the disaster. Details of the injured and casualties are being compiled as search and identification efforts continue.

A total of 21,314 security personnel have been mobilised for search, rescue and relief operations, according to the NDRRMA. The mobilised personnel include 9,199 from the Nepali Army, 7,912 from Nepal Police and 4,203 from the Armed Police Force.

The authority said unidentified dead bodies have been kept at 21 locations for identification and proper management.

According to the latest update, 11,884 people have been rescued so far. Search and rescue operations are continuing in the flood-affected areas, with security agencies using helicopters and other resources to reach stranded people.

Meanwhile, the Nepali Army said it was continuing search and rescue operations at various hydropower projects with the assistance of foreign experts. Joint rescue operations are underway at the Chilime Hydropower Project, Langtang Hydropower Project, Upper Trishuli-1 and Trishuli-3A, among others.

During the immediate rescue operations following the floods, 279 people were rescued alive from hydropower project areas, according to the Nepali Army.

They included two people from Rasuwagadhi, 33 from Upper Trishuli-1, 221 from Upper Trishuli-3A, two from Upper Trishuli-3B, nine from Mailung, four from Nuwakot Solar Power Project, three from Trishuli Hydropower Project and five from Devghat Hydropower Project.