As the death toll from the floods rises to 1,252, families in Nepal stage fake funerals for missing family members.Families in flood-affected areas have started performing the last rites of missing relatives using effigies made of kusha grass as their chances of finding them alive are dwindling.Even as the death toll rises to 1,252 on Thursday, Nepali families have been conducting symbolic burial rites for their relatives after learning nothing about them for eight days.
On August 26, an ice-rock avalanche close to the Nepal-Tibet border caused flash floods that destroyed towns and villages in northern and central Nepal.
The number of fatalities from the Bhotekoshi River floods increased to 1,252 on Thursday, with 4,216 people remaining unaccounted for, according to data given by Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).
In Paharebesi village of Rasuwa district, residents have begun preparing to execute burial rituals for missing relatives after receiving no information about their whereabouts for eight days, Onlinekhabar news portal said on Thursday. According to The Kathmandu Post newspaper, families in flood-affected areas have started employing effigies fashioned of kusha grass to carry out the last rites of relatives who are still missing, since hopes of finding them alive are dwindling.
Families claimed that because there was little chance of finding everyone who had gone missing and because it was getting harder to identify dead, they were resorting to symbolic funerals.
355 dead from Chitawan district, 218 from Nawalparasi East, 208 from Nawalparasi West (including 18 retrieved from India and given to Nawalparasi West), and 177 from Nuwakot have been found, according to NDRRMA.
In a similar vein, 127 bodies were found in Rasuwa district, 69 in Gorkha, 60 in Dhading, and 38 in Tahanu.
As of Wednesday, the number of Chinese fatalities from the flash flood that occurred in Gyirong County, Tibet, close to the Nepal border, has risen to 21, and 541 people are still unaccounted for.
According to Saraswati Bishta, a technician at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology’s Flood Forecasting Division, there is a chance that the water levels in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, as well as small rivers and rivulets flowing through Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, will rise due to the ongoing rainfall in the Bhotekoshi River’s upstream areas on Thursday.
She advised those who live downstream of the river and in the neighboring areas to exercise caution.
Taplejung, Panchthar, Terhathum, Dhankuta, Sankhuwasabha, Okhaldhunga, Udaypur, Chitwan, Gorkha, Tanahu, Lamjung, Manang, Mustang, Myagdi, Kaski, Syangja, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur are among the districts with a middle-level risk of flash floods, she said.
Similar to this, rivers in mountainous areas like Kalikot, Humla, Jumla, Dailekh, Darchula, Baitadi, and Kalikot districts are also growing, which raises the possibility of flash floods, she continued.
HOW IS THE NEPAL FLOOD’s SEARCH EFFORT PROGRESSING?
On Thursday, Nepal’s foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, referred to the country’s severe floods as a “Himalayan Tsunami” and expressed gratitude to the international community and neighboring nations for their assistance and solidarity at this trying time.
Khanal made these remarks a few days after identifying China, the United States, and India as the top three polluters of greenhouse gasses worldwide and claiming that they have a “historical responsibility to compensate vulnerable nations like Nepal” in an interview with a private television channel.
Khanal stated on Thursday that “Nepal will continue close cooperation and collaboration with the international community in this regard,” thanking friendly states, neighboring countries, and the global community for their support and solidarity.
Schoolchildren in Nepal are contributing to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund with a portion of their pocket money, even as aid from both local and foreign sources keeps coming in.
Kids from different schools in Nepal are willingly giving their pocket money or snack money to help people impacted by the floods.
On Thursday, the joint rescue teams under the command of the Nepal Army continued their search and rescue operations for the ninth day.
According to the Kathmandu Post newspaper, the floods have altered the topography of the valleys of Rasuwa and Nuwakot, leaving helicopter pilots to rely on their own self-control and judgment to negotiate the steep terrain as riverbanks and well-known landmarks have vanished.
As grieving families have begun staging symbolic funerals for missing loved ones, their hopes of finding them alive fading.
The disaster was triggered on August 26 by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border, unleashing flash floods that devastated towns and villages across northern and central Nepal, particularly along the Bhotekoshi River.
According to data from Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), while 1,252 fatalities have been confirmed, a staggering 4,216 people remain unaccounted for. The sheer number of missing persons and the increasing difficulty in identifying bodies have led families to make the heartbreaking decision to proceed with symbolic last rites.
In the flood-ravaged Paharebesi village of Rasuwa district, residents have started preparations for these rituals after eight agonizing days with no news, as reported by the Onlinekhabar news portal. The Kathmandu Post notes that families are using effigies made of kusha grass to represent their missing relatives during these ceremonies.
Breakdown of Fatalities by District:
The NDRRMA provided a grim breakdown of the recovered bodies across several districts:
- Chitawan: 355
- Nawalparasi East: 218
- Nawalparasi West: 208 (including 18 recovered from India)
- Nuwakot: 177
- Rasuwa: 127
- Gorkha: 69
- Dhading: 60
- Tahanu: 38
The tragedy extends across the border into Tibet’s Gyirong County, where the death toll among Chinese nationals reached 21 as of Wednesday, with another 541 individuals reported missing.
Ongoing Threats and Flood Warnings:
The danger has not yet passed. Saraswati Bishta, a technician at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology’s Flood Forecasting Division, warned on Thursday of potential water level rises. Continued rainfall upstream of the Bhotekoshi River threatens to swell the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, as well as smaller waterways in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts.
Bishta strongly advised residents living downstream and in adjacent areas to remain vigilant. She highlighted several districts facing a moderate risk of further flash floods, including Taplejung, Panchthar, Terhathum, Dhankuta, Sankhuwasabha, Okhaldhunga, Udaypur, Chitwan, Gorkha, Tanahu, Lamjung, Manang, Mustang, Myagdi, Kaski, Syangja, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur.
Furthermore, rising river levels in mountainous regions such as Kalikot, Humla, Jumla, Dailekh, Darchula, and Baitadi also present an increased risk of sudden flooding.
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