Nepal Flood Death Toll Rises as Rescuers Search Tunnels

Nepal’s reported death toll from a devastating flood rose to 1,357 on Tuesday, with 5,326 people still missing nearly two weeks after the Aug. 26 disaster. China has confirmed 43 deaths and 519 missing, bringing the combined toll to 1,400 dead and 5,845 missing.

Nepal’s disaster authorities are still compiling and checking figures from across the country. Assistant spokesman Prakash Pokhrel said the process had caused the number of missing people to rise as officials worked toward a figure “close to reality.”

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We have been compiling reports and verifying them. That is what has caused the increase in the number. We are trying to get to a number that is close to reality.

Rescue teams continued their work for a 14th day after a glacial and mountain collapse near the China-Nepal border swept away roads, bridges and homes. Nepali rescuers are concentrating on three hydropower projects where they believe workers could still be trapped. Hundreds of hydropower workers are among the missing.

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Our search and rescue operation is ongoing. We are hoping that there might still be survivors in at least three projects, and we are pushing our operations there.

The rescue of three people from deep inside tunnels has kept hopes alive. Two Nepali workers were rescued on Friday and a Chinese man on Saturday. Dharam Raj Uprety, head of Nepal’s disaster authority, said the search remained active and that teams hoped survivors might still be found at at least three projects. Foreign experts from China, India and South Korea are assisting Nepali rescuers.

Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said reports about people missing inside the tunnels remained unverified and that it had not abandoned hope of finding survivors. With mortuaries full, police said hundreds of bodies had been buried in mass graves after DNA samples were collected for future identification.

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Hopes of finding survivors remain, and the reported number of people missing inside the tunnels remains unverified.

The exact cause of the glacial collapse remains unclear. The article notes that climate change is accelerating glacial melt worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters. Nepal, a largely rural country of 30 million people that has contributed little to the greenhouse-gas emissions driving global warming, says reconstruction could cost billions of dollars. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said reaching isolated communities was difficult because access routes were narrow and dangerous, prolonging families’ wait for urgently needed support.

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Every delay means families wait longer for the support they urgently need.