Kathmandu [Nepal], September 27 : Nepal has been witnessing heavy downpours since Thursday night, inundating houses and throwing life out of gear. Landslides triggered by heavy rainfall have disrupted highways, with domestic flights delayed or cancelled.
Thousands of travellers have been left stranded along the highway and the airport, facing delays and travel chaos. A major highway connecting Kathmandu Valley with other districts remained closed after a mudslide swept through, halting the traffic since afternoon.
Dozens of domestic flights have been forced to cancel, with some forced to take round in the air, waiting for the rainfall to recede. The Himalayan Nation is now witnessing downpour after activation of monsoon winds, influenced by water vapour from the Bay of Bengal and a low-pressure system in the region.
For a record fourth time, the slum area that lies right on the border of Kathmandu and Lalitpur district got inundated forcing people out of their home.
"At around 5 in the evening the water started entering the area from the tribune that lies quite far from the settlement. Upon seeing that, I came running in search of my parents, I was frantically searching for them and I found them in the safe place which then relieved me," Indal Mahat, one of the residents, told ANI.
Other areas, including the Bauddha, Kapan, Banashali area also were inundated as the rain continued since last night. The Flood Forecasting Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology throughout the day issued warning for various districts throughout the day including the Kathmandu Valley alerting about rise in water levels in the rivers.
The Meteorological Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said that several places in Jhapa district witnessed over 299 millimetres of rainfall, which is labelled 'extremely heavy' within the last 24 hours.
Met officials have said that rainfall above 50 mm is categorised as heavy, above 100 mm is very heavy and over 200 mm extremely heavy.
The Met Office has anticipated heavy isolated rainfall in some parts of Bagmati, Gandaki, and Lumbini provinces on Friday night. Light to moderate rainfall is likely in most parts of Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, and Sudurpaschim provinces, and a few places in the rest of the provinces could witness light to moderate rainfall, punctuated with thundershowers.
The monsoon season in Nepal generally begins on June 13. The exit, which was usually on September 23, has been extended to October 2. This year, the clouds from the south entered Nepal from the western region on June 10, three days ahead of the usual onset date. Last year, the weather phenomenon started on June 14, a day after the normal onset day.
The monsoon period, which delivers around 80 percent of the country's total annual rainfall, generally lasts 105 days. But, in recent years, it has been taking more time to withdraw. This year, too, monsoon rainfall will be prolonged by at least five days, met officials had predicted earlier. Nepal has already recorded above-average rainfall this season.
According to Met Office data, the country received 1,586.3 millimetres of rainfall as of Friday morning since the monsoon entered on June 10, 107.2 percent7.2 percent above the average monsoon rainfall.
Normally, Nepal receives an average of 1,472 mm of rainfall in the four monthsJune, July, August, and September. In 2023, Nepal witnessed only 1,303 mm of rainfall in the season, 88.5 per cent of the average.
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