KATHMANDU, Nepal – Landslides caused by heavy rains this weekend in a mountainous region of Nepal bordering Tibet have killed at least 11 people and left many more missing, officials say, bringing a new crisis to the worst-hit area by devastating 2015. Earthquake.
Many locals have recently rebuilt their homes in one district, as Nepal has been hit by landslides since the earthquake hit. Nepal has also been hit by the economic crisis and widespread unemployment by the coronavirus epidemic, which has killed 633 people in the country.
As many as 20 people from Barhabis village went missing after a landslide on Sunday that washed away 28 houses in the area on Saturday night, prompting rescuers to search for survivors.
“Rescuers are working hard, but it seems impossible to rescue the missing,” said Shridhar Naupane, press secretary to Agniprasad Sapkota, chairman of Nepal’s House of Representatives.
Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and residents were mobilized for relief and rescue operations, which are hampered by inclement weather. Three of the injured were taken to hospital.
The mountainous district where the landslide occurred, Sindhupalchowk, was badly affected by the 2015 earthquake. Of the 8,700 people who died in the quake, 3,440 were from the district.
Every year, landslides kill many people in mountain villages and towns. -In mid-August, a massive landslide in the nearby village of Lidi killed 36 people. Seventy houses built on steep slopes were cleared.
Basanta Raj Adhikari, an assistant professor of geology at Tribhuvan University in Nepal, said the cracks developed by previous earthquakes have now become active again after this season’s rains. “Because of this, people living in dangerous areas like Sindhupalchowk are losing their lives due to landslides.”
Mr Adhikari said the quake had destabilized the fragile mountain geography and exacerbated the problem with the use of heavy equipment to build roads on steep slopes.
The only way to move people to unsafe settlements in safe places, he said.
