Bahrain has expressed its sympathy and solidarity with Nepal following catastrophic floods and landslides that resulted in casualties, missing people and widespread infrastructure damage.
The Foreign Ministry, in a statement yesterday, extended the kingdom’s sincere condolences to the government and people of Nepal, as well as to the families of the victims, wishing a swift recovery to those injured and hoping for the safe return of the missing.
The statement came as rescuers searched for survivors in the Himalayas’ debris-strewn valleys and hillsides of Nepal after a flash flood that killed at least 359 people and left nearly 1,000 missing there and in neighbouring China.
Nepalese Ambassador to Bahrain Tirtha Raj Wagle said last night that following the sudden and devastating flood in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa district of Nepal, several districts, including Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Gorkha, have been affected, resulting in significant human and material losses.
“The government of Nepal has intensified search, rescue and relief operations in the affected areas. The assessment of the human and material losses is ongoing,” the diplomat said in a statement.
To support the immediate management of affected people in safe locations and their long-term rehabilitation, the government of Nepal has established the Prime Minister’s Natural Disaster Relief Fund and the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
Nepalese living abroad and foreign citizens or organisations who wish to help Nepal during this time of disaster can now send relief funds directly to the government of Nepal’s account through the web portal: https://pmdrf.nchl.com.np/
“I also convey our sincere appreciation for the message of solidarity and support expressed by Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry during this difficult time,” the ambassador added.
There are about 30,000 Nepalese in Bahrain.
Nepal and China yesterday warned of a risk of fresh flooding from water pooling in two lakes. Both countries said a glacier collapse on Wednesday morning sent a huge torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris cascading through Himalayan mountain river systems, sweeping through villages and key infrastructure down a route thronged by trekkers and pilgrims that links Kathmandu with Lhasa in Tibet.
Of those missing, at least 540 are foreigners. Authorities in Nepal used helicopters to search for survivors and drop emergency supplies to thousands cut off in towns and valleys, while emergency services recovered dozens of bodies swept down into the plains.
The sheer amount of water and debris stirred up now risks triggering a further disaster.
Nepal’s disaster management authority warned that a lake formed by debris blocking the Bhotekoshi River at the flood site was rising and at risk of bursting, while on the other side of the border China said that some three million cubic metres of water – the equivalent of about 1,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools – was expected to flow into an already dammed lake over the next three days.
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