Jumping Into Floodwaters for Gas Cylinders... Why People Wait in Endless Lines

[Anchor]

In Nepal, where the shock of massive floods has yet to fade, an LPG gas crisis is now unfolding. Because Nepal lacks city gas infrastructure and relies heavily on LPG, the situation has worsened significantly due to unstable supply stemming from the Middle East crisis and major roads being cut off by floods.

Reporter Choi Go-un covered the scene.

[Reporter]

Long lines have formed since the morning.

This seemingly endless queue consists entirely of Nepalese people who have come to refill their gas cylinders.

[Modu Sarumang: (How many did you bring?) I brought three family gas cylinders. But they say we can only refill one cylinder per household.]

People carrying LPG cylinders weighing about 15 kilograms each keep pouring in, and the area around the police guarding the main gate is crowded with people asking whether they can get their gas refilled today (the 11th).

We are in front of a gas refilling station in Nepal.

You can see people continuously arriving with these LPG cylinders.

With the daily supply capacity limited to only about 500 cylinders, people have no choice but to wait in endless lines.

It is fortunate if one can get gas even after standing in line.

[Maya Tamang: They say it is not possible today. I only received a waiting ticket and do not know when my turn will come. They just tell me to wait. What should I do when I need to cook meals?]


The gas crisis occurred because major highways used by large vehicles transporting gas were cut off by the recent massive floods.

A rationing system that fills only half of each gas cylinder has already been in effect since last March in the wake of the US-Iran war, and now overlapping bad news has struck.

LPG is the main fuel in Nepal since there is no city gas, and restaurants with high consumption are in despair.

[Binod Maharjan: We normally use one or two cylinders a day, about 40 to 50 cylinders a month. Since we cannot get gas in Kathmandu, we are loading cylinders onto vehicles and traveling back and forth to where the gas transport trucks are.]

Many people are also resorting to cooking meals using firewood.


Footage of people jumping into swollen floodwaters to retrieve LPG gas cylinders during the massive floods drew widespread attention, showing just how desperate it is for the people of Nepal.

While the Nepalese government has announced supply measures for cooking gas cylinders, normalization is expected to take time.

The second batch of South Korea's Korea Disaster Relief Team arrived in Kathmandu today, carrying relief supplies such as winter clothing and blankets.

They will focus on the reconstruction and recovery of flood damage and carry out operations for an initial period of one week.

(Video by Cho Chang-hyun and Yang Ji-hoon | Video Editing by Jung Sung-hoon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.