Kathmandu, Sep 4: Rescuers on Friday pulled out two men alive from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, which was affected by last week’s deadly floods, raising hopes that others could still be trapped inside.

Nine days after a deadly flash flood tore through the Trishuli River corridor, sweeping away everything in its path and causing extensive damage to dozens of hydropower projects, two men employed at the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project were rescued alive.

The Secretariat of the Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation confirmed that Kabir Maharjan, 45, a supervisor for the Hydropower Automation Project of Upper Trishuli 3A from Kathmandu, and Sanjaya Sah, 30, a foreman from Saptari district, were rescued alive.

“They are being taken to hospital in Kathmandu after being airlifted,” the secretariat said.

Sah was rescued earlier on Friday, followed by Maharjan, according to the latest information received from the rescue operation.

The rescue followed an earlier breakthrough in which rescuers heard voices from inside the tunnel and established communication with people believed to be trapped there.

The Nepal Army and Armed Police Force intensified efforts to reach them after the voices were heard.

According to local media reports, the rescue team called out to the trapped workers, asking them not to panic, and sustained efforts eventually paid off.

The flash flood on August 26 swept through the Trishuli River valley, killing at least 1,252 people, while 5,053 people remained missing as of Thursday evening, according to the latest situation report released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).

The floods also damaged several hydropower projects, including the 60 MW Upper Trishuli 3A Project, as well as key road links. Search teams have since been working in difficult conditions to locate people who may have been trapped inside tunnels and other structures.

According to the minister’s secretariat, a joint team of the Nepal Army and Armed Police Force, including Chinese experts, has been deployed at the site. The team has been using five excavators, compressors and breakers, while tunnel drilling and holing work has been intensified to clear access to the tunnel.

A large rock was located inside the tunnel, and blasting work was carried out to remove the obstruction and facilitate further search and rescue efforts.

The Trishuli 3A hydropower plant was affected by the devastating floods in the Trishuli and Bhotekoshi river systems, which caused extensive damage to infrastructure in the region.

The Independent Power Producers’ Association, an association of private-sector power developers, said on Thursday evening that as many as 945 people working in 11 hydropower projects affected by the floods remained out of contact.

Kathmandu, Sep 4: Jensen Huang, Chief Executive Officer of US technology company Nvidia, has donated $10 million to Nepal’s Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund to support people affected by the devastating floods in the Bhotekoshi River basin in Rasuwa district, Nepal’s Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle said.

In a video message, Wagle thanked Huang, Nvidia’s founder and CEO, for the contribution, which he said had helped push total donations to the Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund above NPR 10 billion ($66 million).

“On behalf of the government of Nepal, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Jensen Huang for donating $10 million to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund in aid of flood victims,” Wagle said in the video message. “I hope this sizable contribution, notable by any philanthropic standard, will inspire many others to also contribute to this noble cause.”

The death toll from the devastating Rasuwa floods has reached 1,259, while 5,053 people remain missing by Thursday evening, according to the latest situation report released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).

Since the deadly floods occurred last week, Nepal has been receiving various forms of assistance from several countries and agencies.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah said in a social media post on Thursday evening that neighboring India had been providing all necessary forms of assistance from the first day in various phases.

“So far, India has provided 74 tonnes of relief and rescue materials in five phases. It has also been deploying expert teams to the affected areas for rescue operations,” he said.

China has provided Nepal with NPR 300 million and 50 tonnes of relief materials. In addition, the Government of Nepal has requested China to provide 30 Bailey bridges for the affected areas.

According to the Prime Minister, Pakistan is providing 86 tonnes of relief materials. Sri Lanka has pledged $1 million in assistance. Bangladesh is also preparing to send relief materials.

The United States has pledged $500,000 in assistance. Australia has pledged $1 million in cash assistance and is also preparing to send a team, including experts and drone operators, to Nepal soon.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has already provided 83 tonnes of essential relief materials and pledged up to $10 million in assistance. Qatar has also provided 40 tonnes of relief materials, according to the Prime Minister.

The United Kingdom (UK) has announced 5 million pounds sterling in assistance. Similarly, the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) has announced 2 million euro, Switzerland $1 million, Denmark 3.5 million Danish kroner, Germany $2 million, Ireland 500,000 euro, the Czech Republic 2.5 million Czech koruna, and Norway 12.7 million Norwegian kroner in assistance.

France has provided emergency relief materials for 200 households in the affected areas. Luxembourg and Latvia have also provided relief materials.

In addition, the World Bank has pledged $167 million in concessional loans, while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged $5 million in budgetary support (grant) and $150,000 in technical assistance.

Kathmandu, Sep 3: The Nepali government on Thursday informed the foreign diplomatic community in Nepal that the Himalayan nation would seek further international assistance for the recovery and reconstruction of infrastructure damaged by the recent Bhote Koshi floods.

The death toll from the Rasuwa flood disaster had reached 1,252 by Thursday noon, with 4,216 people remaining out of contact, according to the latest data released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).

The deadly floods also caused massive damage to infrastructure, including roads, bridges, public and private buildings, and hydropower projects along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors.

The Nepali government is currently seeking domestic and international support for the rescue and relief of people affected by the floods, including those who remain out of contact, many of whom are believed to be inside tunnels of hydropower projects.

However, the extensive damage to infrastructure caused by the floods will require significant additional resources for reconstruction. It is the second major incident to cause significant loss of life and infrastructure damage since the Gen-Z movement last year, during which 77 people were killed and property worth more than NPR 84 billion was destroyed, according to the government statistics.

“The Nepali government will seek international assistance for the recovery and reconstruction of infrastructure damaged by the Bhote Koshi flood after completing a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA),” Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said on Thursday during a briefing to the diplomatic community in Kathmandu on the Bhote Koshi flood disaster.

Ambassadors, heads and representatives of diplomatic missions, and representatives of international organisations, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the United Nations, attended the diplomatic briefing held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, the minister’s secretariat said in a statement.

During the briefing, Minister Khanal said a preliminary assessment was underway to determine the damage caused to houses, roads, bridges, hydropower projects and other critical infrastructure by the devastating flood. The PDNA will establish the full extent of the damage and identify the resources required for recovery and reconstruction, he said.

“Preliminary estimates indicate that a significant amount of resources will be required to reconstruct the infrastructure damaged by the Bhote Koshi flood,” Khanal said. “Once the detailed assessment is completed, the government will formally inform international partners about the resources required and request assistance for recovery and reconstruction.”

He also committed that the government would manage international assistance with transparency, accountability and clearly defined priorities. Earlier this week, he said the government was in discussions about holding an international donor conference to seek support for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure.

Nepal had earlier organised an international conference to seek international support following the devastating earthquake in 2015. The donor community pledged as much as US$ 4.1 billion at the conference.

As rescue efforts continue, Foreign Minister Khanal made clear that the safety and welfare of foreign nationals remained a top priority of the Government of Nepal. As many as 583 foreign nationals remain out of contact, according to the NDRRMA.

“The Foreign Ministry has been continuously coordinating with the NDRRMA, Nepal Police, Nepal Tourism Board, Nepali diplomatic missions abroad and the families of foreign nationals reported missing,” Khanal said.

He said the Emergency Control Room established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nepali diplomatic missions abroad were helping provide verified information to the families of missing foreign nationals, facilitate the identification process and arrange repatriation when necessary.

Thanking diplomatic missions for providing information about their nationals who had been reported missing, Minister Khanal said such information was proving important in search, verification and identification efforts.

Describing the floods as a “Himalayan tsunami”, Khanal said the Nepali government was studying the causes and development of the disaster and was receiving assistance from relevant technical experts.

Minister Khanal said the Bhote Koshi disaster should not be viewed only as an immediate humanitarian crisis but also in the context of increasing climate risks in the Himalayan region.

“Although Nepal makes a negligible contribution to global emissions, the people of Nepal are bearing a disproportionate and heavy burden of the impacts of a warming Himalaya,” Minister Khanal said.

He stressed the need to translate climate justice, effective early warning systems, disaster preparedness and resilient reconstruction from paper commitments into practice.

“In this context, Nepal has already written to the co-chairs of the Loss and Damage Fund Board under the United Nations requesting immediate assistance,” Khanal said.