Nepal intensifies relief and recovery efforts after deadly floods, UN says

The full impact of the flood in Tibet is unclear. China has released information through state media outlets showing the devastation around the border, but has given few details about the victims or the impact on local villagers.

In Nepal, nearly 3,500 people have been left homeless and displaced in 27 sites – mostly schools, which disrupts education – across the districts of Nuwakot and Rasuwa.

People packed into overcrowded shelters, contaminated water and damaged health facilities were putting the population at greater risk of disease in the middle of the monsoon season, OCHA said.

Nepal’s Prime Minister, Balendra Shah, said there was a renewed emphasis on protecting the lives of survivors, providing medical treatment and psychological counselling.

Shah told parliament on Wednesday the disaster “snatched away mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers from us in an instant”.

But he added “we do not have the luxury of taking a rest simply because our bodies are exhausted. Nor is there time to wail together when our hearts break.”

He said he had received news at 08:45 local time on 26 August that a flood had hit. Fifteen minutes later, district administrative offices urged people along riverbanks to evacuate, and at 09:35, precautionary warning notices were sent to mobile phones in affected areas.

In response to “why there was no timely flood warning”, he said the disaster “was beyond predictable forecasts”.

A new report has said there was evidence of growing instability around the glacier in the days before the collapse. Better early-warning systems could have saved lives, according to experts from the Asian Mountain Academic Alliance, the Stimson Centre and China’s Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment.

Scientists for years have warned of melting ice and permafrost, which is centuries-old frozen soil, in the Himalayas due to climate change.

Shah said the event showed the escalating risks facing the Himalayan region due to climate change, adding the time had come to “present a strong case before the international community regarding the disasters we are suffering” as a result.

“Climate change is a global contribution. Mitigating and managing its impacts is a shared responsibility of the global community,” he said.

Nepal has declared a disaster in 15 affected areas for three months to provide financial assistance to families of the dead, rescue and relocate the displaced and deploy the army.

The Nepalese government and the UN have agreed to launch a four-month humanitarian flash appeal.