(This was taken from the Boston Globe website at: www.boston.com )
Landslide sweeps through village in Nepal, at least 65 feared killed
By Binaj Gurubacharya, Associated Press, 8/21/2002 06:44
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) A landslide triggered by heavy monsoon rains swept through a mountainous village in eastern Nepal, and at least 65 people were missing and feared dead, an official said Wednesday.
Most of the residents were asleep when the landslide struck Thapra village in Ramechap district early Wednesday, said Lekhnath Pokhrel of the Natural Calamity Management Center.
''Initial reports said that 40 houses were swept away and at least 65 people are reported to be missing and feared killed,'' Pokhrel said.
He said helicopters loaded with relief material and rescuers were waiting at the Katmandu airport for the weather to clear so they could fly to the village.
The village, about 125 miles east of the capital, Katmandu, is in a remote mountainous area with no roads to nearby towns. People use mountain trails to reach it.
The Himalayan kingdom has been badly hit by annual floods that have devastated large areas of South Asia. More than 950 people have been killed and about 25 million displaced or trapped in Nepal, India and Bangladesh since June.
The landslide comes at a time when the weather had been improving and the government was wrapping up its rescue efforts.
Nepal has had a series of landslides since the heavy monsoon downpours began. Most have occurred in remote mountainous areas accessible only by helicopter. Many places have been cut off as torrential rains have washed away roads. At least 429 people in the Himalayan kingdom have been killed and 250,000 left homeless by the landslides and floods.
At least five people were killed in Nepal over the weekend when two houses collapsed. Three of them died in Deurali, 75 miles west of Katmandu, when the roof of their house collapsed following heavy rains Saturday.
In Kusunti, 10 miles south of Katmandu, two people died and six were injured in another house collapse.
Landslide sweeps through village in Nepal, at least 65 feared killed
By Binaj Gurubacharya, Associated Press, 8/21/2002 06:44
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) A landslide triggered by heavy monsoon rains swept through a mountainous village in eastern Nepal, and at least 65 people were missing and feared dead, an official said Wednesday.
Most of the residents were asleep when the landslide struck Thapra village in Ramechap district early Wednesday, said Lekhnath Pokhrel of the Natural Calamity Management Center.
''Initial reports said that 40 houses were swept away and at least 65 people are reported to be missing and feared killed,'' Pokhrel said.
He said helicopters loaded with relief material and rescuers were waiting at the Katmandu airport for the weather to clear so they could fly to the village.
The village, about 125 miles east of the capital, Katmandu, is in a remote mountainous area with no roads to nearby towns. People use mountain trails to reach it.
The Himalayan kingdom has been badly hit by annual floods that have devastated large areas of South Asia. More than 950 people have been killed and about 25 million displaced or trapped in Nepal, India and Bangladesh since June.
The landslide comes at a time when the weather had been improving and the government was wrapping up its rescue efforts.
Nepal has had a series of landslides since the heavy monsoon downpours began. Most have occurred in remote mountainous areas accessible only by helicopter. Many places have been cut off as torrential rains have washed away roads. At least 429 people in the Himalayan kingdom have been killed and 250,000 left homeless by the landslides and floods.
At least five people were killed in Nepal over the weekend when two houses collapsed. Three of them died in Deurali, 75 miles west of Katmandu, when the roof of their house collapsed following heavy rains Saturday.
In Kusunti, 10 miles south of Katmandu, two people died and six were injured in another house collapse.
That is sad news. Hope everyone at Bir Gorkha is ok.