Heavy monsoon downpours have triggered a new wave of landslides and flash floods across Nepal, killing around 30 people and forcing the emergency airlift of trekkers from mountain routes, officials said.
Rescue teams have been using helicopters to evacuate hikers and transport critically injured people from remote trails after rain-saturated slopes gave way. Local authorities reported multiple landslides in hilly and mountainous districts, with emergency crews working to reach affected communities where roads have been blocked or washed out.
A fresh blow after major floods
The deaths come about a month after widespread, catastrophic flooding struck parts of Nepal, displacing residents and causing extensive damage to houses, farmland and infrastructure. Officials and aid agencies have warned that persistent heavy rainfall heightens the risk of further slides and flooding while hampering relief operations.
Humanitarian and logistical challenges
Authorities have appealed for resources to support search and rescue efforts and to assist communities cut off by the weather. Communications and transport disruptions have complicated damage assessments, and local officials cautioned that numbers of injured and missing could change as teams reach more isolated areas.
Weather services have issued warnings for continued heavy rain in several regions, urging people to avoid low-lying and landslide-prone areas where possible. The new round of fatalities underscores the vulnerability of Nepal’s mountainous terrain to intense monsoon precipitation and the strains that repeated disasters place on emergency response systems.