Floods and landslides in Nepal leave at least 14 dead, nine missing

In neighbouring India, floods have killed six people in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll from torrential rains in the country since mid-May to 58.

Torrential rains have caused flash floods and landslides, leaving 14 people dead and nine others missing in Nepal on Sunday, July 7, local police said. “Police are working with other agencies and local residents to locate missing persons”said its spokesman, Dan Bahadur Karki.

Last month, 14 people were killed in the country in violent storms that caused landslides, lightning and flooding.

In neighbouring India, floods in the northeastern Indian state of Assam have killed six people in the past 24 hours, the disaster management authority said on Sunday, bringing the death toll from torrential rains in the country since mid-May to 58.

In Bangladesh, a low-lying country downstream from India, more than two million people have been affected by flooding, the disaster management agency said. Local police on Saturday put the death toll at least eight. Much of the country is made up of deltas, with the Himalayan rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra winding their way to the sea after flowing through India.

The June-September monsoon season causes death and destruction across South Asia each year, but in recent years the number of deadly floods and landslides has increased. Experts say climate change, the result of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions and road construction, is exacerbating the problem.

Since the 19th century, the average temperature of the Earth has warmed by 1.1°C. Scientists have established with certainty that this increase is due to human activities, consumers of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). This warming, unprecedented in its speed, threatens the future of our societies and biodiversity. But solutions – renewable energies, moderation, reduction of meat consumption – exist. Discover our answers to your questions on the climate crisis.