Landslides struck Nepal: At least 11 casualties

At least 11 people have been reported dead and many more are still missing after a series of landslides struck Nepal.

The ground failures occurred on Sunday, September 13, 2020, and affected communities located in the Sindhupalchok District.

The landslides were triggered after heavy rainfalls hit the region. Three villages were affected and 28 houses were destroyed. Unfortunately, the slides struck before dawn and therefore people could not easily exit their residences and reach a safe place. As several victims were reported missing, a rescue operation in search of survivors was rapidly launched.

The operation of the rescue team, which included citizens and military personnel, was severely obstructed due to heavy precipitation that persisted for a significant time period.

According to recent updates, 5 people have been recovered from the debris with injuries (3 of them were hospitalized) and at least 15 more are believed to be trapped under the landslides' debris. The rescue operation has become extremely challenging, officials stated. "Rescuers are working hard, but rescuing the missing people alive seems impossible,” Shreedhar Neupane, a press coordinator for Agni Prasad Sapkota, the speaker of Nepal’s House of Representatives, mentioned.

The affected villages were also impacted by a disastrous earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015. The M 7.8 tremblor occurred 65 kilometers east of Kathmandu at a depth of 10 kilometers. It caused heavy infrastructure damage including building and road failures and triggered numerous landslides. At least 9,000 people were reported dead and more than 22,0000 suffered injuries. The main event was followed by many aftershocks with one measuring M 6.6.

The area is characterized by steep terrain and receives large amounts of precipitation. These are factors that make it very prone to landsliding. After the 2015 events, people managed to reconstruct much of the damaged infrastructure.

In a nearby village, more than 11 people died after another landslide struck in August 2020. The slide was also triggered by heavy rainfalls that devastate the region during the monsoon period (June to September). Back then, authorities mentioned that the death toll caused by landsliding during 2020 has been unprecedented.

Officials stated that the ground has become more unstable since the 2015 incident, a fact that has led to more landslide phenomena over the following years. "We fear more landslides as the soil has grown weaker after the earthquake," Nimphunjo Sherpa, mayor of an affected municipality, stated.

Authorities examine relocating some of the existing houses, especially those situated in steep terrains where landslides are more likely to occur.