FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES triggered by heavy downpours in Nepal killed at least 59 people across the Himalayan country, with rescue teams searching for 44 missing, police said today.
Rain-related disasters are common in South Asia during the monsoon season from June to September, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and severity.
Large swathes of Nepal have been inundated since yesterday, prompting disaster authorities to warn of flash floods in multiple rivers.
Security force members use an inflatable raft to bring residents to safety from a flooded area near the bank of the overflowing Bagmati River following heavy rains, in Kathmandu, Nepal Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
“So far, there are 59 dead, 36 wounded and 44 missing,” Nepal police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki told AFP.
Karki said more than 200 incidents of flood and landslides have been reported and that the toll was likely to increase further.
Rivers around the capital Kathmandu …