Himalayan flood disaster: Bodies recovered in India as death toll rises across Nepal

The trail continued into India as Narayani becomes Gandak downstream. SSB teams recovered bodies of two women and a man in Maharajganj.

NEW DELHI: Barely seven minutes separated the seismic signal generated by Wednesday’s Himalayan collapse from the destructive surge reaching Rasuwagadhi at the Nepal-Tibet border, but the flood’s trail stretched nearly 200km downstream. Bodies were recovered through Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan and Nawalparasi East, while three more, believed to have been swept out of Nepal, were found in the Gandak river in Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday. Chitwan, along Nepal’s border with India, recorded 132 recoveries — the highest in any district. The initial seismic signal was recorded at 8.37am. Border-security footage showed people fleeing moments before the torrent tore through the narrow gorge, sweeping away buildings and vehicles. The seven-minute interval reflected the speed at which the disaster unfolded, but did not amount to an official evacuation window: Nepal’s flood authorities received information about the surge only after it had entered Bhote Koshi. Sauharda Joshi, hydrologist at Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, said the flood crossed into Nepal at around 8.40am and reached Syabrubesi within about 10 minutes. “If we had been informed while the flood was building up in Tibet, human casualties could have been significantly minimised,” he said. Flood Forecasting Division received information about the major surge at 9.05am and sent more than 600,000 SMS warnings to people along riverbanks in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Chitwan within minutes. The flood later moved through Trishuli into the Narayani river, carrying its debris trail towards Nepal’s southern plains.

The trail continued into India as Narayani becomes Gandak downstream. SSB teams recovered bodies of two women and a man in Maharajganj. SSB inspector Arun Pandey said, “Three bodies believed to have been swept into the Gandak from Nepal have so far been recovered in Indian territory.”