Flood-hit Nepal races to rebuild bridges, restore vital road links with India, China support

Nepal is racing to restore roads and bridges destroyed by devastating flash floods, seeking temporary bridges from India and China. The disaster killed 1,356 people and left nearly 5,000 missing, while infrastructure damage is estimated at NPR 30 billion, complicating rescue efforts

Kathmandu: Nepal is racing to restore vital road links severed by devastating flash floods, seeking temporary bridges from India and China as authorities work to reconnect isolated communities in the disaster-hit areas.

The death toll from the August 26 disaster stood at 1,356 as of Monday, while 4,994 people remained missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA). A total of 13,396 people have been rescued so far.

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The floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border, sent the Bhotekoshi River raging downstream, washing away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects across northern and central Nepal.

Nepal has sought temporary bridges from both India and China, which have responded positively.

China has already sent two 100-metre Bailey bridges to the Korala border crossing in Mustang, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The Department of Roads has estimated damage to roads and bridges at NPR 30 billion, while rebuilding is expected to cost about NPR 50 billion, the report said.

The floods destroyed 41 motorable bridges between Rasuwa and Chitwan, and four others were partially damaged, leaving only 18 of the 63 bridges along the corridor intact.

The floods have severed several critical road links.

In Rasuwa, the disaster cut the road connection with Nuwakot, while the concrete bridge at Furke Khola was destroyed, severing the direct link between Dhadingbesi, the Dhading district headquarters, and the Prithvi Highway.

The Department of Roads has begun clearing and reopening stretches of roads washed away by the floods to make way for installation of temporary bridges, the Post report said, quoting Shubharaj Neupane, deputy director general and spokesperson for the department.

The Nepali Army is separately installing an Acrow bridge at Devighat in Nuwakot, it said.

The Department of Roads has 11 Bailey bridges, each up to 48 metres long, but transporting them to the damaged sites remains a major challenge because roads leading to several locations have themselves been swept away, Sushil Babu Dhakal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, said.

“Even where Bailey bridges are available, there is no road to transport them to the sites. Work is underway to reopen the tracks damaged by the floods,” Dhakal said.

India has also offered to supply Bailey bridges, the report said.

Meanwhile, the scale of the infrastructure damage has added to the challenges facing rescue and recovery operations, with authorities also struggling to identify bodies recovered from the floodwaters.

Only 98 bodies had been identified and handed over to families as of Monday, according to the NDRRMA.

Many of the bodies recovered after being swept downstream were severely damaged, decomposed or recovered only in parts, making identification difficult.

The disaster also killed at least 43 people on the Chinese side, while more than 500 people remain missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports.