[Anchor]
Fears of additional floods continue to grip the site of the disaster. Another flood warning sounded early this morning (August 30), prompting nearby residents to urgently evacuate.
Let us first watch the report from correspondent Han Sang-woo, who is reporting from the scene, and then we will connect live.
[Reporter]
At 4:30 AM in the darkness, a rush of urgent evacuations unfolds.
[Watch out, please be careful.]
[(Are you evacuating? Are you evacuating?) Yes.]
Entire families load onto a single motorcycle, and vehicles are packed to the brim with belongings as they move.
Upon hearing the news of yet another flood in the early morning hours, residents evacuated urgently, while the river surges with a massive increase in volume and violent currents.
[Announcement: The water level of the river is rising. Please be careful.]
Soon, water vapor rises as fierce currents wrap around the river.
News that a massive surge of water was once again rushing down from the upper reaches early this morning placed areas near the disaster zone on high alert.
[Disaster Site Manager: The river water level started rising again from 2:45 AM. That is why we are warning people.]
Fortunately, it passed without serious damage, but search and recovery operations were temporarily suspended.
Just as operations seemed ready to resume from the morning, another danger signal was caught.
[Gurung / Nepal Police: (Did a warning come out again?) Yes. (So is the water level rising now?) Yes, it is high.]
When another flood risk warning was issued during the day today, civilian access to the disaster area was strictly controlled.
Search and rescue operations remain sluggish as heavy machinery mobilized with great difficulty gets stuck in the mud and unable to move.
Families of the missing are equally filled with frustration.
[Family Member of Missing Person: I searched every hospital in Kathmandu, but they were not there either. Since they might be rescued by helicopter, I am waiting here.]
Holding onto wire fences outside the zone where helicopters fly back and forth, they wait for news of their family members' rescue, but on the fifth day since the disaster, the embers of hope are growing dimmer.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Video reporting: Joo Yong-jin, Hangyul | Video editing: Lee Sang-min)
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[Anchor]
Yes, let us go straight to the flood disaster site in Nepal.
Correspondent Han Sang-woo, are you in a safe place right now?
[Reporter]
Yes, I am currently in a village right next to the disaster site.
This area is relatively high in elevation and thus fairly safe, but since early this morning, we could visually confirm that the volume of water in the Trishuli River has significantly increased and its flow has grown faster.
As the current erodes the surrounding areas and widens the river width, some residents living right next to it have evacuated.
[Anchor]
I heard that the conditions for the survivors are also dire. How are things looking?
[Reporter]
People who barely escaped with just the clothes on their backs at the time of the disaster, and those who lost family members or have them missing, have all survived, but every day is a struggle.
A student I met today expressed deep anguish, sharing that he lost a friend who studied at the same school and managed to escape alone with the help of others.
[Surviving Student: I am visually impaired. The dormitory where we lived was completely washed away by the flood. One of my friends is still out of contact.]
People who were unable to salvage anything are getting clothes and shoes through relief organizations, and are having their meals at free soup kitchens for victims.
[Anchor]
Correspondent Han, you also reported on the shelter facilities for displaced persons, right?
[Reporter]
Yes, there are eight displacement shelters here in the Bidur area.
Most of them utilize gyms or public facilities, but conditions remain poor nonetheless.
[Nepal Police: Families of the deceased and missing are staying here. They are staying here while waiting for confirmation news on the missing or deceased.]
The place I visited today was the auditorium of the Nepal Taekwondo Association, where 192 displaced people were staying.
All of them have been enduring together in one space with mats laid out on the floor for five days now, with no promise in sight of how long this situation will last.
(Video editing: So Ji-hye)
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