On the ninth day of the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli floods, here are the key updates on the incident.
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According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, an initial estimate of the damage due to the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli flood is more than 3 trillion 87 billion rupees.
During a press briefing held in Kathmandu on Thursday evening, the chief executive officer of the authority, Dharmaraj Upreti, announced the initial damage figures.
"Looking at buildings, roads, telecommunications, agriculture, four-wheel drive, there is a very preliminary figure of 3 trillion 87 billion 54 million rupees worth of damage," he said.
According to Upreti, it is seen that an estimated 7 billion 95 crores may be required for 'early recovery' in all areas.
Photo credit: BBC/Shreejana Shrestha
Even after nine days of people being trapped in the tunnels of various hydropower projects and the production centers ('powerhouses') inside them, more than four people have not been rescued alive, officials said.
According to the Nepali Army, three bodies were recovered from the tunnel structure of various hydropower projects. The promoter of the project said that two more bodies were removed from the tunnel of the Langtang River Hydropower Project on Thursday.
Why are the rescue workers unable to reach more than 150 people who are believed to be trapped in the hydroelectric tunnel after several days of efforts?
According to the latest report, the bodies of 1,259 people were found in the Rasuwa flood and 5,083 people were left without contact.
In the details released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority on Thursday at 7 pm, it is said that only 95 of the bodies found have been identified and understood.
In the meantime, more than 12,000 people have been rescued and more than 3,800 are in shelters, according to the report.
According to the Nepal Oil Corporation, alternative arrangements have been made for supply as petroleum tankers and gas bullets cannot come from that route after the floods cut off the Krishnabhir section of the Prithvi Highway.
The Corporation is importing petroleum products for sale and distribution in Kathmandu Valley through 'Byrodo Bato' (Tribhuvan Rajpath) while in the case of LP gas gas industries, arrangements have been made to bring gas cylinders filled to Terai industries through the same route.
According to the corporation, arrangements have been made to bring about 24,500 cylinders of different brands to the valley on Thursday alone and from Friday this order will be brought regularly and in additional quantities.
"In order to facilitate the relief work, 1,05,000 liters of petrol and 2,02,000 liters of diesel have been provided to the petrol pumps currently operating in the flood-affected areas from the Bagmati regional office of the corporation in Thankot and arrangements have been made for the sale and distribution of petrol and diesel even on public holidays as per the demand," the statement of the corporation issued on Thursday said.
In coordination with the LP Gas Corporation, arrangements have been made to send 500 cylinders to Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts out of the 1,250 cylinders provided by the Nepal LP Gas Industry Association at the request of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Singhdarbar Kathmandu in coordination with the LP Gas Corporation.
Image source, Nepal Police
According to the Nepal Police, 114 Nepali citizens, including a minor, who were on their way to Tibet when the Bhotekoshi river was flooded, were safely rescued by the Chinese government and brought into Nepal through the Tatopani crossing of Sindhupalchok.
In a video footage released by the police on Thursday, those Nepalis are seen entering Nepal.
Earlier, at the Monsoon Response Command Post meeting, after China delivered hot water to the Nepalese who were stuck in China due to floods, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development decided to make appropriate arrangements in Kathmandu and the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration decided to make arrangements to deliver them to their homes.
Thousands of houses were damaged in the devastating floods that occurred on the 10th of August in Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers.
The people who escaped and saved their lives are now slowly starting to search if they can find any useful items in their flooded houses or ruins.
Image source, PM Secreteriat
According to the Prime Minister's Secretariat, the opening of the tunnel mouth of the Trishuli-3A hydropower project in Nuwakot, which was affected by the flood, is continuing.
It is suspected that people were trapped there after the tunnels and main structures of the project were flooded.
The secretariat has informed that a team of 93 people including a Chinese team and other technicians under the leadership of the Nepali Army, along with five excavators, compressors and breakers, are engaged in search and rescue.
At the mouth of the tunnel are 40 meters long and 20 meters high broken iron structures and large stones.
"After continuous efforts day and night, it has been pushed aside and the mouth of the tunnel has been opened about 3 feet from the top," said the secretariat.
Along with this, the rescue team has reached 15-20 meters inside it and the entire mouth has to be opened to enter with excavators and machines, so the work of removing the remaining obstacles is going on.
It is said that the powerhouse and other structures inside can be reached only after breaking through the tunnel filled with soil and mud.
Image source, Getty Images
Officials have said that the number of people performing the last rites of their loved ones by making an idol of Kush at Pashupati Aryaghat in Kathmandu has also started increasing since Wednesday.
"Our records show that three people were cremated on Wednesday," Surya Bhat, Information Officer of the Pashupati Area Development Fund, told the BBC.
In various other religious communities, the religious farewell process of some uncontacted people has already started, according to the relevant experts.
In addition, some people on social media are commenting that the family was in an unnecessary hurry or could not even wait for a few days in the case of flood.
But experts say that people make such comments without understanding.
Read about it in detail.
Nepali Consulate General in Lhasa has informed that 114 Nepalis who were stopped in Kerung in Tibet after the severe flood in Rasuwagadhi have started returning to Nepal from Thursday.
Consul General Lakshmi Prasad Niraula informed that most of the Nepalese who came to Tibet with visas for Mansarovar pilgrimage and business have returned home.
But the Nepalese who reached Kerung with a temporary pass are now about to return.
Detailed news about it
Nepalis stranded in Kerung are returning from Tatopani, 800 people have recorded the name
The government of Nepal has decided to observe national mourning on Monday, August 22, in memory of the people who lost their lives in the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli floods last week.
Government Spokesman and Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel informed that the cabinet meeting held on Thursday decided to observe national mourning on the 13th day of the devastating flood.
"In honor of the people who lost their lives due to the unimaginable flood that occurred on the Nepal-China border on August 10th, the 13th day of the death anniversary of the incident, i.e. August 22nd, national mourning will be celebrated and the national flags of government offices across Nepal and Nepali embassies and missions abroad will be flown at half-mast on that day," said Minister Sasmit Pokharel, spokesperson of the government.
Dadeldhura district police office has informed the close relatives of the missing persons to contact the office with necessary documents to collect DNA samples from their close relatives to identify the persons with permanent address in Dadeldhura district who disappeared in the flood.
According to the police, samples will be collected from blood relatives including father, mother, brothers, brothers and sisters for DNA testing.
It is said that the concerned relatives should contact the District Police Office Dadeldhura with the citizenship certificate and three copies of passport size photographs.
After the floods and landslides in Rasuwa area, some people with permanent address in Dadeldhura are still without contact.
DSP Varun Bahadur Singh informed that DNA testing is being carried out as an important means to reveal the real identity of the missing person.
After the flood, 150 people in Far West are still without contact.
According to Padam Bahadur Bista, spokesman and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of the Sudurpaschim Province Police Office, 209 people from various districts of the Sudurpaschim were left without contact after the flood.
Of them, 59 people have been found so far, while the condition of 150 people is still unknown.
Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal has today 'briefed' the diplomatic community in Kathmandu on various issues related to the floods in Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers.
According to the National News Committee, ambassadors of various countries, heads and representatives of diplomatic missions, representatives of international organizations including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank and the United Nations were present at the briefing.
Minister Khanal said that the priority of the government now is to protect the lives of affected citizens, search and rescue and the security of foreign citizens.
"I prefer to call this devastating flood 'Himalayan Tsunami', because we have not experienced anything like it in recent memory," Minister Khanal said.
According to him, the government is studying the cause of this disaster and its development. He said that the help of related technical experts was also taken for that.
Minister Khanal thanked the representatives of the diplomatic mission for the information about the disappearance of their citizens. He said that such information will help in the search, verification and identification process.
"The solidarity and support received has come in many forms – rescue expertise, equipment, logistics, health and forensic support and financial assistance. Each of these contributions is making a difference in the affected areas," Minister Khanal said.
At the end of the briefing, Minister Khanal expressed gratitude for the solidarity and support Nepal received from its neighbors, allies and the international community during this difficult time of disaster. He said that the government will continue to cooperate with international partners by mobilizing all available national resources and will regularly inform the diplomatic community about the state of the disaster.
Image source, Zhang Maoming/X
Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zhang Maoming said that the third shipment of Chinese aid arrived in Nepal on Thursday after the Rasuwa flood.
He mentioned that 10 legal experts have come to Kathmandu along with the aid material.
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the third shipment of aid includes belay bridges, mortuary refrigerators, anti-epidemic materials and emergency communication equipment.
Photo source, Reuters
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has informed that Australia will send a team of expert drone operators to assist in search and rescue after the flood in Nepal.
According to him, a 15-member disaster assistance team will work in Nepal.
"They will provide mapping and thermal imaging (technical services) using state-of-the-art drone technology to assist in search and rescue," she said.
"The situation facing those involved in search and rescue is very challenging."
She said that it is difficult to reach some places.
"Nepalese officials have said that search operations are underway in areas identified by Australia, such as Hotel Kailas and Hotel Royal Himalaya. In both places, the army is conducting search operations on foot and with the help of helicopters and drones."
Earlier, Australia had sent 19 aid workers to Nepal.
Another 38 Australian citizens are still without contact after the Bhotekoshi floods.
Former Energy Minister Kulman Ghising has said that Prime Minister Walendra Shah has promised to rescue the people trapped in the tunnels of various hydropower projects due to Bhotekoshi and Trishuli floods as soon as possible.
Ghising Orudat is the chairman of Nepal Party and former head of Nepal Electricity Authority.
A delegation led by Ghising met Prime Minister Shah at Singha Durbar today.
According to the National News Committee, during the meeting, the Prime Minister said that the team with experts is continuing efforts to rescue the people trapped in the tunnel.
"The prime minister had a question about how to rescue the people trapped inside the tunnel," Ghisingh told mediapersons after the meeting.
They said that they have suggested to take the necessary equipment and manpower to the tunnel area to rescue the trapped people.
According to him, the Prime Minister said that the government will mobilize all resources and manpower for the safe rescue of the citizens trapped in the tunnel.
"The Prime Minister has assured us that the resources available in the country and also from outside will be mobilized immediately," said Ghisingh.
The government has announced that free air rescue services will be provided for pregnant and post-partum women in Bhotekoshi-Trishuli flood-affected areas.
According to the Ministry of Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities and Social Security, air rescue operations can be carried out from 15 local levels of the flood-affected districts for pregnant and post-partum women who are at risk of life.
"If such pregnant women and newborns (within 24 hours) cannot be treated at the local level in the neighborhood around your home, contact them immediately if they need free air rescue," the ministry's notification states.
Comparison with the damage caused by the earthquake in 2072
Image source, Sergio Gor/Twitter
US special envoy for South and Central Asia, Sergio Gore, said that additional aid sent to Nepal by two US military cargo planes for flood-affected communities arrived in Nepal on Thursday.
"...5,000 special disaster relief items, 500 'first aid kits', stretchers and front-end loaders have been delivered to support the ongoing Nepal-led search, rescue and relief efforts," Gore wrote on social media.
"This aid is being provided at the request of the Government of Nepal and is in addition to the $3.6 million aid previously announced for post-flood relief."
In addition to the services and facilities available according to police regulations, Nepal Police has said that the families of the police personnel who lost their lives in the flood on August 10 will be given 10 lakh rupees as relief.
"Also, the special loan taken by the deceased police personnel from the Nepal Police Welfare Fund will be waived," he said.
It has been mentioned that the policy making committee chaired by Inspector General of Police Dan Bahadur Karki has decided to take the necessary steps for skill training and employment for an interested person from the family and arrange for the children to study at the Nepal Police School by waiving educational fees.
25 members of the Nepal Police are still without contact due to the flood.
45 people from the Nepali Army and 13 people from the Armed Police are also without contact. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, there are 14 people from the Customs Office and 3 people from the Immigration Office among those who have become contactless.
More than 21,000 security personnel are deployed in relief, search and rescue operations, of which more than 9,000 are from the Nepal Police, about 8,000 from the Nepali Army and more than 4,000 from the Armed Police.
Today is the ninth day of devastating floods in Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers. According to government agencies, more than 1,250 people have been confirmed dead so far, while more than 5,000 people remain uncontacted.
