Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah has warned that the deadly flash floods that have left more than 1,000 people dead and thousands missing are a sign of worsening disaster risks in the Himalayan region as climate change accelerates.
The catastrophe, which struck on August 26 after a high-altitude glacial collapse along the China-Nepal border, sent freezing water, rocks and debris through villages, destroying homes and infrastructure.
Shah said the disaster was “a serious indication that the risks we face in the Himalayan region are increasing alongside climate change”.
“Climate change is a global contribution, and disaster response is also a global responsibility,” he added in a Facebook post.
Nepal said 1,050 bodies had been recovered by Tuesday, while 3,916 people remained missing. China reported 16 deaths and 546 missing, taking the overall reported death toll to 1,066 with 4,462 people still missing.
At least 17 bodies have also been recovered from rivers downstream in India.
Scientists have warned that the Himalayas are warming rapidly as global temperatures rise, accelerating glacier melt. The wider Himalayan and Hindu Kush ranges provide a crucial water source for around 240 million people in mountainous areas and another 1.65 billion people living along river valleys across South and Southeast Asia.
Rescue teams are continuing to search for survivors, particularly inside hydropower plant tunnels blocked by sludge and debris.
Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said rescuers still had reason to hope.
“Miracles do happen,” he told AFP. “At this point, I do not want to completely give up hope.”
With mortuaries overflowing, authorities have also begun burying unidentified bodies after collecting DNA samples, while Nepal has warned that reconstruction costs could run into billions of dollars.
AFP
