▲ An area in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, is flooded by heavy rainfall on September 26 (local time).
Monsoon rains have triggered a series of floods, landslides, and avalanches in northern India and Nepal, leaving at least 80 people dead or missing.
According to AFP and other news agencies on September 27 (local time), disaster management authorities in India's Uttar Pradesh state announced that at least 56 people have died over the past three days starting from September 25 due to unprecedented heavy rainfall that struck most parts of the state.
During this period, the region was lashed by 66.5 mm of torrential rain, which is nine times the average rainfall of 7.6 mm typically seen at this time of year.
Authorities explained that a low-pressure system originating over the Bay of Bengal in the east moved inland, bringing heavy downpours that caused flood damage to about 1,000 houses.
The Central Water Commission of India also warned that the situation is very grave, noting that major northern rivers flowing through Uttar Pradesh, including the Ganges, Gandak, and tributaries such as the Kosi and Bagmati rivers, have exceeded danger levels.
Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state with a population of 240 million, suffers severe flood damage every year during the monsoon season from June to September.
Reuters reported that in Nepal, which shares a border with Uttar Pradesh, floods and landslides continuing since September 24 have claimed the lives of at least 14 people.
According to local media outlet the Kathmandu Post, a 75-year-old man was killed and his two teenage daughters, aged 17 and 15, went missing after mud brought down by heavy rain engulfed a house in the Palpa district of Lumbini Province in southern Nepal on the morning of that day.
In the Baglung district of northern Gandaki Province, four people, including women and children, were confirmed dead after a landslide buried a house.
Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority stated that water levels in major rivers and streams across the country continue to rise, prompting flash flood alerts for 49 out of the 77 districts.
It added, however, that the Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts in south-central Bagmati Province, which suffered heavy damage last month with about 7,500 dead or missing, were excluded from this high-risk designation.
Meanwhile, the Kathmandu Post reported that on the morning of that day, an avalanche swept through the base camp of Himlung Himal, a 7,126-meter-high peak in Gandaki Province, leaving at least 14 Nepali staff members missing.
Himalaya Holiday Trekking, a mountaineering agency, stated that it completely lost contact with 14 staff members, including Sherpas who were setting up tents for foreign climbers, following the avalanche.
Local authorities are struggling with rescue operations as severe weather currently prevents rescue helicopters from taking off, and overland access has also been cut off.
(Photo: Capture from Hindustan Times website, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.