Post-Monsoon Downpours Claim 27 Lives as Fiscal Year Disaster Toll Passes 300
A late-monsoon storm system killed at least 27 people across Nepal, pushing the country's disaster death toll past 300 since mid-April.
Late-monsoon downpours driven by a Bay of Bengal low-pressure system killed at least 27 people across Nepal in late September, causing widespread landslides and flash floods, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).
The disaster data caps a lethal five-and-a-half-month span. Nepal Samacharpatra reported NDRRMA statistics showing that between mid-April and late September (Baisakh 1 to Asoj 11), natural and environmental disasters claimed 312 lives across 6,320 documented incidents. Snakebites caused the highest fatality toll with 88 deaths, followed by landslides with 49, floods with 30, and lightning with 24.
The late-September deluge, spanning four days from Asoj 8 to 11, triggered 542 disaster incidents nationwide, reported Nagarik News and Onlinekhabar. Landslides caused the heaviest immediate destruction, accounting for 304 events, 20 deaths, and four missing persons. Flash floods and persistent rainfall accounted for seven additional deaths.
Gandaki Province bore the brunt of the recent deluge. Gorkhapatra reported that 23 people died across the province alone between Asoj 8 and 12, citing Tirtha Raj Chiluwal, secretary at the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers. Fatalities included 12 people in Baglung and seven in Myagdi, while an avalanche on Mount Himlung in Manang claimed four climbers.
Rescue operations on Mount Himlung remain severely obstructed. Onlinekhabar reported that four bodies were recovered from a 22-member Nepali team establishing camps on the mountain. However, Gorkhapatra reported that 12 people remain missing, with deep snow drifts exceeding 15 feet forcing local authorities in Manang to temporarily suspend rescue operations.
NDRRMA spokesperson Shanti Mahat noted that security agencies evacuated around 2,000 people to safer ground, deploying helicopters to extract stranded residents in remote parts of Myagdi, Baglung, and Jajarkot. Onlinekhabar noted that 4,395 Armed Police Force personnel and 265 Nepal Army soldiers took part in rescue missions.
Infrastructure was severely hit. While Nagarik News reported that 31 bridges suffered damage, Onlinekhabar placed the count of damaged bridges at 10, alongside 31 destroyed animal sheds. A bridge over the Kali Gandaki River in Baglung was completely washed away, snapping transport and utilities. Landslides also temporarily dammed the Marsyangdi River at Chame in Manang and the Kali Gandaki in Mustang.
Prior to the storms, the NDRRMA maintained continuous emergency surveillance, dispatching 980,000 flood-warning SMS alerts to vulnerable residents and 9,000 advisories in English to tourists across the country.