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Heavy rains in Nepal kill 47 people and block roads

Officials said that heavy rains in Nepal have caused landslides, flash floods, and washed away bridges, killing 47 people.

Kalidas Dhauboji is a spokesperson of the Armed Police Force. He said that 35 people died in landslides separate in the Ilam District in the eastern bordering India.

He added that nine people are missing, having been washed out by floods. Three others have died in lightning strikes in other parts of Nepal.

Shanti Mahat is a spokesperson for Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. She said that rescue efforts are ongoing to find missing people.

Local media reported that landslides caused by heavy rains in Darjeeling, a hill region in eastern India, killed at least seven people.

"Seven bodies have been recovered already from the debris." Two more people are known to us. We are working to recover the bodies of these two people as well," Abhishek, a Darjeeling District Police official, said in a Sunday post on social media platform X by Indian news agency ANI.

Authorities reported that several highways were blocked by landslides or washed out by floods. This left hundreds of passengers stranded.

Rinji Sherpa is a spokesperson at Kathmandu Airport, Nepal's largest international gateway. "Domestic flight are mostly disrupted, but international flights operate normally," he said.

A district official reported that the Koshi River in southeastern Nepal was flowing at a level above danger. The river, which is responsible for deadly floods almost every year in eastern Indian state Bihar, flows over the danger threshold.

Dharmendra Kumar Mihsra, district Governor of Sunsari District, said that all 56 sluice gate of the Koshi Barrage were opened to drain water, compared to about 10-12 during a normal condition. He added that the authorities had prohibited vehicular traffic on this bridge.

Kathmandu's hilly terrain has seen several rivers flood roads and many homes, separating the temple-studded city from the rest the country.

Every year, hundreds of people are killed in Nepal's mostly mountainous areas by landslides or flash floods. These events occur during the monsoon period which starts around mid-June.

Officials said that rains would likely continue to fall on the Himalayan nation through Monday. Authorities said they are taking "all precautions and care" to assist those affected by the tragedy. (Reporting from Gopal Sharma, Kathmandu. Additional reporting by Jayshree Upadhyay, Mumbai. Editing by Lincoln Feast & Jamie Freed).

(source: Reuters)