The family of Chandika Kumari Shrestha began the mourning ceremony after they thought that devastating floods had swept Nepal, claiming the life of the elderly woman. However, ten days later, rescue teams found her in her destroyed home in the afflicted village of Pitrawati, where she clung to a narrow breathing space amid the water and mud.
Police officer Mahendra Darnall said: “The floods swept away the four-storey house and left it in quicksand. While we were walking around it, we heard a voice saying, “Save me.”
He added that his team found Shrestha inside a narrow place during a 45-minute rescue operation yesterday, Saturday, before she was transferred to an army hospital.
He indicated that he was in contact with her family, which had already begun the mourning period, which lasts 11 days.
Shrestha was among hundreds of missing people in Petrawati, one of the areas most affected by floods in Nepal, which was covered in solid white deposits that almost resembled concrete. Rescue teams are still recovering dozens of bodies from the area.
The town's main market and most of the residential buildings, some of which were four stories high, were almost completely buried under the rubble left by the sweeping floods that swept the valley, in a disaster that claimed the lives of more than 1,300 people across Nepal, while thousands are still missing.
Rescue workers were seen wearing protective helmets and digging with shovels, while some of them were crawling through the gaps between the collapsed buildings and repeatedly sounding whistles to check whether there were people still alive under the rubble.
Darnall said that five days ago, 24 bodies were found in a state of decomposition inside a building that housed a small shop in the market area of Petrawati.
Searching for signs of the existence of living things
Eleven days after a glacier collapsed causing devastating floods, about five thousand people are still missing.
Hundreds of bodies were washed away from the affected area of Rasoa. In Chitwan, hundreds of miles away, several mass burials took place of unidentified bodies in advanced states of decomposition.
Although hopes are gradually fading, the Nepalese authorities continue their efforts to search for people stuck inside the tunnels and under the thick layers of mud that have hardened on top of the buildings.
Since Friday, rescue teams have been able to extract three people from the tunnels, including a Chinese citizen, near the Trishuli River, where more than 900 people are believed to be still trapped. Others, like Shrestha, survived in exceptional circumstances, including an eight-year-old boy who was reunited with his mother.
School principal Rajendra Dawadi was with about 900 students in the building near the Trishuli River in Nepal when one of his colleagues came warning of a flood. Douadi said in a press interview: “The accountant came to the school and said: The flood is coming... The flood is coming.” The principal immediately ordered the school to be evacuated, and the teachers evacuated hundreds of students to higher places, explaining that he found himself facing two possibilities: “If the information is wrong, we will lose a day of school, but if it is correct, we will lose our lives.”
Minutes later, Dawoodi saw the Trishuli Bazar District Secondary School, which he had supervised for years, collapse under the weight of torrential torrential rains on the morning of August 26. Panic broke out among the students, and a girl fainted, but the speed of their evacuation allowed 900 people to be saved. Now, more than 10 days after the disaster, Dawadi stands on the damaged riverbank in the Nuwakot area, and says that he is “the principal of a school without a school,” according to what Agence France-Presse quoted him in a report on Sunday.
A massive wave of water, ice and debris, similar to a tsunami, resulting from a massive avalanche and rock collapse on the border between Nepal and China, killed at least 1,362 people, while more than 5,500 are still missing in the two countries. The Minister of Energy of Nepal confirmed, on Sunday, that relief teams are continuing their efforts without stopping in search of survivors, 11 days after the flood disaster. In recent days, rescue personnel recovered three people alive - two Nepalese workers and a Chinese citizen - from the tunnels of the Trishuli 3 energy dam project, and a sixty-year-old woman from a house buried in mud. Douadi pointed out that 5 students died in the floods that swept around the school, in addition to a teacher and a security personnel. He explained that the employee who left the school after him “may have wanted to close the gate.” Dawadi said that the authorities in Trishuli Bazar had not submitted an evacuation plan.
“There is nothing left”
Some residents tried to cross the bridge, but were swept away by the water, while others took refuge in higher areas. Douadi recalls: “When I looked behind me, the school was as tall as the most magnificent buildings, and in 5 minutes, everything collapsed.” He added: “It is also the school I used to go to.” “There is nothing left of it.”
Santoshi Dotil, 17, was in accounting class when the evacuation order was issued. At first, she did not understand the danger, and said: “We never imagined that the flood would reach this extent.” She first went down to the river with her friend to cross it and reach her family's home. Then the water level rose. “The flood washed away the bridge,” she said. I started crying because I thought I would never return home, and that we had no help.” Her friend pulled her up the hill as flood waters swept the area below. Her tears flowed as she recalled the suffering she had lived through for long hours without knowing the fate of her parents. Four days later, a helicopter returned Santoshi to her family. She said: “I found my mother as soon as I got out of the helicopter. She hugged me and started crying. "I can't think anymore." Her mother, Durga Dotil, feared the worst. “When I saw the river overflowing, I lost all hope of my daughter’s survival,” she said.
“Worse than the 2015 earthquake”
According to statistics from the Save the Children organization, at least 69 schools were destroyed or damaged. Which led to about 19,000 students being deprived of education. Dawadi stressed that the disaster was “much worse” than the earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015. He added: “The school was completely destroyed (after the earthquake), but we rebuilt it.” He continued: “This time; We lost the building and the land it was on. We need school again. But first we need a safe place to build it.”
Indonesia suspended operations at its main international airport on the outskirts of Jakarta, on Sunday, as well as flights at 5 other airports, after a volcanic eruption 150 kilometers from the capital, disrupting the plans of thousands of travelers.
The Anak Krakatoa volcano erupted on Saturday, releasing a fountain of lava and loud sounds that could be heard up to 700 kilometers away, according to the Indonesian Geological Agency. The Volcanology Agency reported that two new volcanic eruptions were recorded on Sunday.
Volcanic ash was detected in the airspace surrounding Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, prompting the authorities to suspend operations there starting at 1:30 am Sunday (18:30 GMT Saturday).
The Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Sunday that the test results “indicated the spread of volcanic ash in the area of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, and therefore the closure of the airport was extended on Sunday until 5:30 am.”
After that, the airport announced on social media that the closure was extended 3 times, the last of which was until 5:30 pm on Sunday “due to increasing volcanic activity.” Later on Sunday, the Ministry of Transport announced the suspension of flights at a total of 6 airports.
Transport Minister Dodi Burwagandi said in a press conference: “There were indications that Husein Sastranagar Airport was affected. Therefore, we announced the suspension of flights there,” referring to the last airport included in the decision. Among the other airports that witnessed the suspension of flights is Radin Inten II International Airport, according to the minister.
He added that other airports in the country, including in the cities of Semarang and Surabaya, have been prepared as “alternative sites” for the landing of incoming flights.
The suffering of travelers
The suspension of flights prompted travelers to scramble in search of alternative flights. Hini Yinsan (44 years old), who was planning to return to her hometown with her mother, said, “Everyone was disappointed.” The businesswoman, who was forced to postpone her trip until Tuesday, added: “None of us was angry, because in the end this happened because of a natural disaster,” as quoted by Agence France-Presse.
As Samuel Guiberto, a Danone executive traveling on a business trip to Lombok, said: “I found another flight through a different company, but it was also cancelled.” Pointing out that he has no choice but to remain in his place until further notice.
The travel plans of more than 22,000 people were affected by the suspension of flights, the Ministry of Transport said, adding that 209 flights were affected, especially to and from Singapore. Other affected international flights included Doha, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.
Local media also reported that several schools canceled their activities, with students and residents suffering from eye irritation due to the ash, while fishermen canceled their fishing trips due to the eruption.
Warning not to approach
It is noteworthy that the Anak Krakatoa volcano is located in a strait separating the islands of Java and Sumatra. The local port authorities called on ships crossing the strait to be careful, in anticipation of any disruption to the safety of navigation as a result of volcanic activity, and prevented them from approaching the volcano within an area with a radius of 3 kilometers.
The volcano has been active intermittently since it emerged from the sea at the beginning of the last century, in the large crater that formed after the eruption of Mount Krakatoa in 1883. That disaster was one of the most devastating disasters in history. The number of its victims was estimated at about 35 thousand people.
The head of the State Geological Agency, Lana Saria, said, “Seismic activity indicates the movement or emission of volcanic fluids within the volcanic system,” noting that, “However, it is not possible to accurately predict the timing of the next eruption, its size, or its nature.” Lana warned against approaching the Anak Krakatoa volcano, noting that the projectiles it emits may pose a danger to those within the restricted area. It was ruled out that the recent series of eruptions would cause a tsunami, noting that in 2018, a tsunami resulting from the collapse of parts of the Anak Krakatoa volcano killed 429 people and displaced thousands.
Indonesia - an island country in Southeast Asia - is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. The meeting of continental plates causes intense volcanic and seismic activity.
