Nepal risks facing health crisis as bodies remain buried 12 days after flash floods

As floodwaters recede from areas devastated by last month's catastrophic flash floods in Nepal, the true extent of the tragedy is gradually surfacing, with a landscape of thick muck, debris, and destruction left behind. As of Sunday – 12 days since the disaster struck – the official death toll due to the major calamity stood at 1,369 in the Himalayan nation, with about 5,000 people still unaccounted for.

India Today visited Bidur in Nuwakot, one of the districts worst affected by the floods in Nepal. What once was a bustling city now lay washed away, leaving behind an eerie, ghost-town-like landscape.

Bidur, however, is now again accessible by foot due to the receding water level in the Trishuli River.

RACE AGAINST TIME TO RECOVER BODIES

The stench hanging over the areas impacted by the floods has become another grim reminder of the scale of the disaster. As temperatures rise, fears are growing that the bodies of people still missing may be trapped beneath the debris or buried in the mud.

For rescuers, locating and recovering the remains is not only a humanitarian priority but also a race against time, as decomposition in the heat could increase the risk of disease and trigger a public health crisis.

The search and recovery operation in Nepal is therefore continuing amid increasingly difficult and dangerous conditions. The search for the missing has become a painstaking door-to-door effort.

Teams are going from house to house, checking every building and sifting through whatever information they can find—looking for survivors, while also searching for the mortal remains of those still unaccounted for.

For families, the wait is agonising. Day after day, loved ones move from one place to another, clinging to the hope of finding even the smallest piece of information about those they have lost.

BRIDGE WASHED AWAY IN BIDUR

A massive concrete bridge that once connected two parts of Bidur has been completely washed away. Villages along the riverbanks have been swept away, with homes, a police post, a school and other structures reduced to debris.

The area, once among the busiest stretches on the Mansarovar pilgrimage route, now bears the scars of destruction.

While an early warning gave many residents just 30 to 40 minutes to evacuate to higher ground, those who could not escape are feared to have been swept away or remain buried beneath the mud and debris.

The scale of the destruction has made the ongoing rescue, relief and search operations all the more critical.