Search efforts have concluded in Nepal following massive flooding

Nepal has suspended the search-and-rescue operation for people believed to be missing following massive flooding. The natural disaster began on August 26 along the border with the Tibetan region of China.

At least 1,455 people have died as a result of the flooding, while more than 5,000 people are still missing.

Following the flood, 5,285 people remain missing. Another 13,795 people were rescued.

“We are moving from the search-and-rescue phase to the search-and-recovery phase,” said Fanindra Paudel, head of the National Emergency Management Center.

According to him, the authorities plan to consider legally declaring those missing as deceased. This will allow their families to complete insurance, banking, and other legal procedures.

“We are initiating the necessary processes to complete the required legal formalities,” Paudel noted.

At the same time, Dharam Raj Upreti, head of the National Risk Reduction and Disaster Management Authority, stated that active searches for bodies will cease. During recovery efforts, rescue workers will retrieve any remains, personal belongings, and other property found. Emergency rescue operations will continue as needed.

The flood also damaged and destroyed 12 hydropower facilities, roads, bridges, farms, and settlements.

According to government estimates, Nepal needs nearly $5 billion for immediate recovery efforts and to assist the thousands of people who have lost their homes.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 56 Ukrainian citizens are currently unaccounted for.

Preliminary assessments by Nepalese authorities indicate that a massive chunk broke off from a glacier, falling to the bottom of the valley from a height of several hundred meters and triggering a sudden, high-velocity flood.

It should be noted that the Hindu Kush region of the Himalayas contains the largest ice reserves outside the polar regions. There are more than 63,000 glaciers there. Scientists warn that due to climate change, these glaciers are melting at an increasingly rapid rate, and snow cover is shrinking. This increases the risk of floods, landslides, and glacial lake outbursts for hundreds of millions of people in South Asia.

This was reported by Nepalese officials, according to Reuters.

In Nepal, more than 5,000 people remain missing following the floods.