'Landslides in 35 Locations...': Rescuers Scramble to Deliver Aid in Darjeeling
Experts say climate change has worsened the frequency and intensity of floods and landslides across South Asia.
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Rescuers in Nepal and India on Monday, 6 October scrambled to deliver emergency aid after days of torrential rain triggered landslides and floods that have killed more than 70 people, officials said.
The downpours, which began on 3 October, have now eased, but rescue teams are still struggling to reach several cut-off areas with roads blocked and bridges washed away.
Monsoon rains, usually from June to September, bring widespread death and destruction every year across South Asia, but the number of fatal floods and landslides has increased in recent years.
Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said at least 46 people have died in rain-related incidents—two more than the previous day while six others remain missing.
"We had to walk long distances through the hills, even fixing ropes to cross the swollen river," local district police official Laxmi Bhandari told AFP.
Security forces have been deployed with helicopters and motorboats to assist the efforts.
Several highways blocked over the weekend slowly opened up Monday to allow movement of stranded travelers—many returning after celebrating the Hindu festival of Dashain.
'House of Cards'
Across the border in India, at least 28 people were killed in the storms, officials said, as rescuers struggled to reach worst hit spots in the Himalayan region. The tea-growing hills of Darjeeling in West Bengal were among the hardest hit.
"Landslides have been reported from 35 locations in the hills of Darjeeling and more than 100 houses have been destroyed," Praween Prakash, a West Bengal state police official told AFP, confirming 28 deaths.
Hundreds of tourists remain stranded in and around Darjeeling, with authorities advising them to stay put until roads can be cleared.
Local officials said some stranded visitors were rescued on elephants.
"When we woke up on Sunday, the road was gone," tourist Saurav Patil, 65, told AFP. "We are counting the days to leave."
Anita Thapa, 35, a Darjeeling local, said her "home on the top of the hill came down like a house of cards".
"Everything is gone," Thapa told AFP.
Downpours also swelled rivers in neighbouring Bhutan, prompting the Indian Army to join rescue efforts.
(This article has been sourced from AFP.)