Floods and landslides in western Nepal killed at least 38 people
while 90 others were missing, official media reports said Monday.
Heavy rains accompanied by high winds have been hitting
eight districts in western Nepal
since Friday, leaving a trail of destruction, the official Gorkhapatra
newspaper said.
The reports said at least 18 people were killed in Kailali district, about 450
kilometres west of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu,
with 42 others missing.
Another 10 people were killed and 40 others were missing in neighbouring
Kanchanpur district.
Deaths were also reported from nearby districts of Bardiya and Gulmi.
The newspaper quoted the police and rescue officials as saying more than 22,000
people were displaced from their homes.
Rescue and relief operations were being hampered by continuing bad weather in
the region as well as damage to road links.
The flooding also damaged telephone and electricity towers, cutting off
communication links and plunging the region in darkness.
The country's meteorological department said unusually heavy rains were
recorded in several parts of western Nepal since Friday.
In its report, the meteorological department said Dhangadhi town in Kanchanpur
district recorded over 400 millimetres of rain in a 48 hour period.
The flooding in western Nepal
came a month after Koshi River in eastern Nepal breached its banks and
flooded the area.
About 35,000 people were displaced during that flooding.
At least 90 people have died in flooding and landslides across the Himalayan
nation since June.
Nepal
receives nearly 80 per cent of its total annual rainfall during the
four-months-long monsoon season that lasts from June to late September.
© 2007 - 2009 - DPA/eFluxMedia