Nepal Ends Flood Rescue Efforts, Turns to Essential Rehabilitation
Officials stated on Monday that Nepal has concluded search and rescue operations for those missing following the devastating floods in August, which claimed at least 1,455 lives.
At least 5,285 people went missing after the floods struck on August 26 along Nepal’s border with China’s Tibet region, while 13,795 people were rescued.
“We are moving beyond the search and rescue phase toward the search and rehabilitation phase,” Phanindra Paudel, chief of the National Emergency Operation Center, told Reuters.
He said officials are considering how to legally declare the missing persons dead so that their families or relatives can complete insurance, banking, and other legal formalities. “We are initiating the due process to complete the necessary legal formalities,” Paudel said.
Dharma Raj Upreti, chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, stated that officials would no longer actively search for bodies but would recover any remains, property, or other valuables found during the rehabilitation process. Upreti added that emergency rescue operations would still be conducted if the need arose.
The floods also destroyed 12 hydropower projects, roads, bridges, farmlands, and settlements.
Officials say they require approximately $5 billion for the swift recovery and rehabilitation of the thousands of people displaced by the floods.
