Floods and landslides claim at least 14 lives in Nepal: police

Heavy rains in Nepal have killed at least 14 people across the country, causing flash floods and landslides. Disaster teams are currently searching for nine missing people, police said on Sunday.

Floods have also caused major damage and affected millions of people in neighboring India and downstream Bangladesh.

“The police are working with other agencies and the local community to find the missing people,” said Nepalese police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki.

The dead and missing are in several locations.

The monsoon rains from June to September bring death and destruction to South Asia every year, but the number of deadly floods and landslides has increased in recent years.

According to experts, climate change and increased road construction are exacerbating the problem.

Heavy rainfall has been occurring in parts of Nepal since Thursday, prompting the Himalayan state’s disaster management authorities to warn of flash floods in several rivers.

There are reports of flooding from several districts in the lowland regions bordering India.

Last month, 14 people were killed in Nepal in violent storms that caused landslides, lightning strikes and floods.

In India, floods occurred in the northeastern state of Assam, killing six people in the last 24 hours, the Assam Disaster Management Authority said on Sunday.

This brings the number of deaths caused by the rains since mid-May to 58.

In low-lying Bangladesh downstream from India, more than two million people were affected by flooding, according to the disaster management agency.

Large parts of the country consist of deltas where the Himalayan rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra flow towards the sea after crossing India.

The summer monsoon brings 70 to 80 percent of South Asia’s annual rainfall.