Hundreds dead in Nepal

Torrential rains cause up to 600 victims

Severe flooding and ensuing landslides have killed 422 people in Nepal while a further 173 are reported missing, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva.

The monsoon season brings with it warm rains which cause mountain ice caps to melt, swelling rivers and causing mud slides. These in turn devastate hillsides, carrying debris into the already swollen rivers. Those living downstream, with nowhere else to go, are the most affected. To date, 260,000 people have either been evacuated or have lost their homes.

Timofei BYELO PRAVDA.Ru

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