Walls collapsed, trees and electricity grids collapsed: a storm in southern Nepal cost at least 27 lives. And the number of victims could rise according to authorities. Of the more than 600 injured, seven were in mortal danger, having been flown to the capital, Kathmandu, about 100 kilometers away, according to a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. Soldiers and policemen are on their way to the disaster region. Physicians and emergency workers bring tents and other relief supplies to the affected area on the Indian border.
According to helpers, the hospitals in the region are completely overcrowded. A doctor in the Parsa district reported that people had been hit by falling walls, trees and electricity pylons. The strong gusts of wind had also tore hundreds of thatched roofs the night before. „The wind took everything, my house and my family,“ said a villager whose wife was killed in the storm.
An extraordinary weather phenomenon
The infrastructure in the region is largely destroyed, people urgently need food, said a helper. The region’s chief of police, Sanu Ram Bhattarai, did not rule out that the number of victims could increase.
Downpours are common in Nepal in spring, but they are rarely so strong. In the monsoon season from June to September, however, there are regularly floods and landslides, which kill hundreds of people every year.
