Nepal cautions against fresh flooding as death toll rises

DHADING, Nepal — Authorities in Nepal warned of possible fresh flooding on Sunday and urged residents in flood-affected districts to remain on high alert after water levels rose in the Bhotekoshi River.

Flood warning notices were sent to people's phones early on Sunday as rescue crews worked to clear a major highway connecting Kathmandu to one of the areas worst hit by Wednesday's catastrophic floods.

Nepal's disaster agency said on Sunday that the death toll had climbed to 781 with 2,502 missing.

In Dhading, one of the worst-hit regions, some residents began returning to ruined homes to see what can be salvaged.

Residents sat in homes with walls washed away by the floods, shoveling sludge-like mud and rubble off balconies or window frames. Others scanned the ground for items they could pick out of the mud and rinse off. One man had returned for his chickens, which he found alive. He tied them up and put them in the cabin of his truck.

"Everything is finished. Nothing is left. Not even our home," Sharmila Tamang, a Dhading resident who was trying to salvage items from her home, told The Associated Press.

At a key power plant that was severely damaged by the floods, workers started inspecting the facilities on Sunday to survey the destruction. The plant serves more than 20,000 people across four districts.

In the town of Galchhi, a group of residents sought higher ground on a nearby bridge and watched as the river roared by. Some pointed to enormous rocks washed downriver during the earlier floods, while others standing on a suspension bridge were warned off with whistles.

Along the river, homes, vehicles and farm tractors could be seen jutting from the thick gray-brown sediment that enveloped entire villages in the worst-hit flood areas. Parts of rice terraces along the riverside had dropped into the river after landslides hit them.

Large concrete and smaller suspension bridges were destroyed, leaving communities on the other side of the river with less easy access.

"Those who are there are now stuck there. Those who are here are stuck here. It's going to be very difficult," said Sattan Singh Tamang, 47, who was working near a bridge when Wednesday's floods came.

The flash floods started after a glacial collapse high in the Himalayan region. Scientists who studied satellite images said bedrock underneath the glacier had collapsed, taking part of the glacier with it. The rockfall was so extreme that it registered as magnitude 5.2.

The rocks and melted water then swelled the rivers in the valleys below, causing a torrent of water that swept buildings, bridges and earth downstream.

Homes and businesses affected by the floods were still without electricity on Sunday, as twisted power line poles and wires lay tangled in the mud.

Prithvi Highway is a crucial supply route for food, fuel and other goods entering Kathmandu from other parts of the country. While most of the highway is operational, other parts still face repair challenges.

AGENCIES VIA XINHUA