14 dead in landslides and floods in Nepal

By Deepak Adhikari

KATHMANDU, Nepal

At least 14 people, including four members of the same family, have died in Nepal as meteorologists on Monday warned of more rains in the country hit by monsoon-triggered landslides and floods.

People living near rivers in the capital Kathmandu should beware of floods, said weather officials, forecasting heavy rains in central and western Nepal on Tuesday.

A mother and her three children were killed in Jajarkot in midwestern Nepal after landslides crushed their home early Sunday, said local police officer Indrajit Sunar.

Four other children were also among the fatalities in the same incident.

Six people were swept away by swollen rivers in as many districts across the country over the weekend, the state National Emergency Operation Centre said on Monday.

Eleven people were injured on Sunday when a passenger bus was swept away by a flooded river in the midwestern Dang district.

On the outskirts of Kathmandu, several neighborhoods were inundated after torrential rains on Monday. A car sank in a swollen Godavari River, while the driver was rescued by locals.

Several towns across the country, including Nepalgaunj in southern Nepal, have been inundated by heavy rains.

Hundreds die due to landslides and floods every year during Nepal’s monsoon season, which runs between July and September.