Death toll from Nepal flooding hits 626, with almost 2,500 people missing
The death toll from severe flooding in Nepal has surpassed 600, with nearly 2,500 people reported missing as rescue operations face significant weather-related delays. International support, including a UK rapid deployment team, is arriving to assist with the crisis.
Why it matters
The scale of the disaster highlights the vulnerability of mountainous regions to climate-induced geological events and the need for international humanitarian aid.
The death toll from the flooding in Nepal has reached more than 600 as the UK announced it is sending a rapid deployment team to provide support.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said on Saturday that 626 people were confirmed dead, while almost 2,500 people were missing.
The latest figures from Chinese state media reported seven people were dead and 554 people were missing on its side of the border.
The District Administration Office in the Nepalese district of Chitwan said it had only been able to identify four of the 233 bodies recovered. It said DNA samples were being taken from the bodies which were “in a state of decomposition and no longer identifiable”.
As the rescue operation entered its fourth day, Nepal Army spokesman Brig Gen Raja Ram Basnet said helicopter operations had been suspended on Saturday until weather conditions improved.
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