Nepal closes schools as heavy rains claim 151 lives

Nepal closes schools as heavy rains claim 151 lives

Nepal has closed schools for three days after two days of heavy rainfall triggered landslides and floods across the country, resulting in 151 deaths and 56 missing, officials reported yesterday. The floods caused significant disruptions in the Kathmandu valley, where 37 deaths were recorded in the region home to 4 million people, including the capital. 

Authorities cited the need for repairs to university and school buildings damaged by the rain, as students and parents faced difficulties. "We have urged the relevant authorities to close schools in the affected areas for three days," said Lakshmi Bhattarai, spokesperson for the education ministry. In some parts of the capital, rainfall reached up to 322.2mm (12.7 inches), causing the Bagmati River to rise 7 feet above the danger level, according to experts.

However, Govinda Jha, a weather forecaster in the capital, reported that the rains had eased in many areas yesterday morning, with the likelihood of only isolated showers. Television footage showed police rescuers wading through knee-deep mud to recover 16 bodies from two buses swept away by a landslide on a major route into Kathmandu.

The heavy rains were attributed to a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal extending into parts of neighboring India near Nepal. Climate scientists from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) warned that haphazard development in Nepal increases climate risks. 

Arun Bhakta Shrestha, an environmental risk expert at the center, expressed shock at the scale of the flooding, stating, "I’ve never seen such severe flooding in Kathmandu before." The ICIMOD urged the government to invest urgently in infrastructure like stormwater drainage and sewage systems, both engineered ("grey") and nature-based ("green"). The rains' impact was worsened by poor drainage due to unplanned urbanization, construction on floodplains, and encroachment on the Bagmati River, it added.