BHUBANESWAR, India/KATHMANDU - Heavy rain and storms have triggered floods and landslides that killed 56 people in India, while in Nepal, 14 have died and another 11 are missing, with authorities there warning on Sunday that more flash floods are possible. India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh recorded 66.5 mm of rain between Sept. 25 and the morning of Sept. 27, compared with a normal 7.6 mm for the period, Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, the state’s relief commissioner, said on Sunday. Authorities are carrying out rescue operations in waterlogged areas and distributing relief, while officials have been told to assess crop damage and provide compensation. In addition to the 56 deaths, 46 people have been injured and more than 1,000 houses have been damaged. Nepali authorities warned of possible flash floods in 49 of the country’s 77 districts, with more than half facing high flood or flash-flood risks as water levels in major rivers and tributaries continued to rise. Shanti Mahat, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said Rasuwa and Nuwakot, areas hit by last month’s deadly floods that killed more than 1,450 people and left thousands still missing, should remain “alert” but were not currently considered high-risk areas. Power supply has been completely disrupted in the Manang, Mustang, Myagdi and Baglung districts, with authorities working to restore electricity, energy ministry officials said. Flooding of the Rahuganga River damaged the structure and transmission-line towers of a 40-megawatt hydropower project, Water Resources and Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said. In India, the Central Water Commission said 30 river-monitoring stations across seven states indicated a “severe situation.” Several major rivers, including the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati and Narmada, were above danger levels. Floods and landslides also disrupted telecommunications in parts of Nepal after damage to optical fibres and power supplies, Communications Minister Bikram Timilsinha said. In a separate incident in Nepal, 10 local workers were also missing after an avalanche buried the base camp of the 7,126-metre (23,379-ft) Himlung Himal in the northern Manang district, hiking officials said. The workers had been setting up tents for foreign climbers, who were not present when the avalanche struck. Reporting by Gopal Sharma in Kathmandu, Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar, India; Writing by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Jamie Freed and Edwina Gibbs
