Landslides and floods kill 70 in Nepal and India after torrential rains
Nepal’s PM Karki said the government was ‘fully prepared for rescue and relief’ while India’s Modi said he was ‘pained by the loss of lives’
The downpours, which began on Friday, have now eased, but rescue teams are still struggling to reach several cut-off areas with roads blocked and bridges washed away.
Monsoon rains, usually from June to September, bring widespread death and destruction every year across South Asia, but the number of fatal floods and landslides has increased in recent years.
Experts say climate change has worsened their schedule, frequency and intensity.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said at least 46 people have died in rain-related incidents – two more than the previous day – while six others remain missing.
“We had to walk long distances through the hills, even fixing ropes to cross the swollen river,” local district police official Laxmi Bhandari said.