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🇵🇰 Pakistan /Disasters & Emergencies

Nepal flood death toll hits 1,341 as expectant mothers struggle in shelters

From The Express Tribune · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • Nepal’s combined death toll from flash floods and mudslides rose to 1,372, with 5,531 people still missing 11 days after the disaster; officials said 1,341 deaths occurred in Nepal.
  • Thousands of pregnant and new mothers are living in crowded shelters with limited privacy, irregular food, poor sanitation and little access to emergency maternity care.
  • UN estimates indicate that about 500 births could occur in the hardest-hit districts over the following month, including around 74 women who may need emergency obstetric care.

For thousands of pregnant and new mothers displaced by Nepal’s deadly floods, the struggle now extends beyond finding shelter. They are trying to breastfeed, feed their babies and reach emergency care from crowded camps where privacy and basic hygiene are scarce.

Nepal’s death toll from flash floods and mudslides reached 1,341, while the combined toll in Nepal and China rose to 1,372. Official figures said 5,531 people remained missing 11 days after the disaster. Nepal’s disaster authority put the number missing in the country at about 5,000, including 589 foreigners. Chinese authorities reported at least 31 deaths and 531 missing in the southwestern Xizang Autonomous Region, also known as Tibet.

We are not getting food on time either. We are not getting enough to eat.

· PariyarA new mother describing food shortages in a shelter after fleeing floods in Trishuli.

Roads and bridges damaged by floods and landslides have made access to care harder. Mothers in shelters told the Kathmandu Post that they lacked female-friendly spaces for breastfeeding, food suited to nursing schedules and reliable ways to reach hospitals if labour became dangerous. They also reported cigarette smoke, alcohol smells and unhygienic food and water. Children in the camps had no vaccination facilities.

They aren’t giving any special food for babies. We are forced to feed that same heavy adult food to the small child.

· PariyarShe described the lack of suitable food for infants in the shelter camp.

“We are not getting food on time either. We are not getting enough to eat,” said Pariyar, a new mother who fled Trishuli when floods struck on August 26. She said mothers received no special food for babies and had to feed them the same heavy adult food.

Sharmila Shrestha, who sleeps with her two children in a school classroom used as a shelter, said: “If only we had a decent, proper place to stay. That would bring some peace of mind.” UN Population Fund estimates indicate that about 4,430 pregnant women are living across 15 municipalities in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading. About 500 births are expected in the following month, with roughly 74 women potentially needing emergency obstetric care.

If only we had a decent, proper place to stay. That would bring some peace of mind.

· Sharmila ShresthaA mother describing conditions in the school classroom where she and her children sleep.
About this summary

Originally published by The Express Tribune. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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