Nepal flooding deaths surpass 900 as needs climb

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The confirmed death toll from Nepal’s catastrophic floods has surged to 903, with more than 4,200 still missing as rescue crews and humanitarian workers battle blocked highways to reach the hardest-hit areas, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday.

Key points

• Recent flash flooding is now Nepal’s deadliest natural disaster since the April 2015 earthquake
• 65,000 people require emergency water, sanitation and hygiene
• More than 10,000 people have been rescued so far, including 252 foreign nationals

Triggered by a glacier collapse and landslide on Nepal’s border with China on Wednesday, the event is now Nepal’s deadliest natural disaster since the April 2015 earthquake that killed around 9,000 people.

As search and rescue efforts continue, UN agencies have begun to assess long-term needs, including more than 22,000 children needing protection, Mr. Dujarric said. 

Struggling to reach hard-hit areas

Access remains the single biggest obstacle to the response, according to the UN emergency relief agency, OCHA.

Roads are passable only as far as Nuwakot, and some sections of highway linking Kathmandu to the hardest-hit areas remain completely blocked. Power has been restored in some areas.

Nepal’s Government has deployed more than 20,000 search and rescue personnel and declared a flood emergency in 15 municipalities, Mr. Dujarric said.

More than 10,000 people have been rescued so far, including 252 foreign nationals.

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Aid scales up

At the same time, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Tarik Jašarević said overcrowding and disruption to water, sanitation and health services raise the risk of infectious disease outbreaks.

Recent OCHA assessments paint a similarly stark picture of humanitarian needs, including about 2,600 children under five expected to require treatment for severe wasting – or acute malnutrition – and around 10,500 pregnant and breastfeeding women needing nutrition assistance.

Some 19 schools have been damaged, nine completely destroyed and eight more being used to shelter displaced families while more than 10,000 school-age children require psychosocial support, OCHA reported.

Most urgently, preliminary reports indicate that 107 children may be separated from their parents or caregivers, leaving first responders to prioritise family tracing and reunification, according to Mr. Dujarric.

Disaster not yet over

Kamal Kishore, head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), highlighted the unprecedented nature of the glacier collapse and warned last week that “we are still coming to grips with the extent of the damage.”

The disaster has also affected the Tibet side of the border, where Chinese authorities report at least 16 dead and at least 546 still missing.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell said the disaster served as a reminder of how fragile mountain environments have become, noting that scientists and local communities have warned for years about the risks of climate change in the area.

“We also know a warming climate, driven by humanity burning colossal amounts of coal, oil and gas, is making tragedies like this one, and so many others around the world, much more likely, frequent and severe, with vulnerable communities often hardest hit,” he said.

What’s the UN doing?

Here’s a look at the ongoing response from UN agencies:

• The World Food Programme (WFP) has dispatched nearly 80 metric tonnes of food, reaching about 9,200 people with assistance expected to last 15 days
• The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has moved therapeutic food for about 500 severely malnourished children and mobilised 15 emergency medical teams
• The UN’s humanitarian partners have set up a coordination hub in Nuwakot to strengthen planning and information sharing in the disaster response among organizations on the ground

Learn more about UN efforts in Nepal here.