Nepal is accelerating efforts to search for and identify victims one month after the major floods, with 1,453 confirmed dead and 5,644 still missing. Meanwhile, many families continue to wait anxiously for news of their loved ones amid ongoing recovery operations.
One month after the severe flooding in Nepal, many areas remain in recovery while authorities continue searching for the missing and identifying the deceased, as numerous families await answers about the fate of their loved ones.
Nepal’s Disaster Management Office reported that 1,453 bodies have been recovered, with 5,644 people still missing. Only 112 bodies have been returned to families, while another 1,333 have been temporarily buried pending identification.
At the Police Hospital in Kathmandu, space has been set aside for relatives of the missing to provide DNA samples to be compared with those from the recovered bodies. Laboratory officials said experts from India, China, the United States, Singapore, and South Korea have joined the identification efforts.
Pasang Maya Tamang, 32, from the Nuwakot area, lost her son in the floods. She recounted that her son’s body was found in a different location three days after the incident, but she was unable to visit and say a final goodbye.
She said she still dreams of her son and hears him ask in her dreams why she left him alone, which deeply saddens her.
The flood occurred on the morning of 26 August as schoolchildren were on their way to class. Asta Man Dangol from Nuwakot said that while older students managed to escape to higher ground, smaller children who could not run fast enough, along with three teachers, were swept away by the floodwaters.
Efforts to restore the area and build temporary housing
After the waters receded, many communities were left with damaged homes, cut-off roads, mud, and debris. Officials and residents are cleaning up and constructing temporary shelters for those unable to return to their homes.
At the same time, officials face the challenge of identifying many victims, with DNA testing playing a critical role in confirming identities and returning bodies to families.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah said at the United Nations General Assembly on 24 September that this disaster is not just a local tragedy but a global warning of increasing climate risks in the Himalayan region. He called for international support for Nepal’s recovery and enhanced regional cooperation to tackle climate-related disasters.
The disaster followed the collapse of a glacier and rock mass in the Himalayan region on 26 August, which triggered floods causing severe damage along the Trishuli River. Several hydropower projects were damaged, and many workers remain missing.
. Source:ABCnews
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