Two people have been rescued alive from a tunnel in Nepal, nine days after catastrophic floods devastated the country, as rescuers continue searching for survivors.
The focus of rescue efforts has been on four hydropower projects, which offer the strongest prospect of finding survivors because of the presence of air inside the tunnels, Amshu Kiran Shahi, a board member of the Nepal Electricity Authority, told reporters earlier this week. Several plants' entrances were buried under huge amounts of mud, rocks and debris after the flood.
The devastating floods caused at least 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees ($2.56 billion) in damage to property, homes and infrastructure, according to Dharma Raj Upreti, chief of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
Nepal estimates it will need around $52.6 million in the first four months to rebuild roads and temporary shelters, provide drinking water and restore electricity.
Upreti said the figure was an initial estimate prepared with relevant government agencies and departments, with a more detailed assessment expected soon.
The country will also need to rebuild around 20,000 homes in the worst-hit areas, including at least 7,500 that were completely destroyed.
More than 1,200 people were killed after a glacier collapse sent a torrent of ice, rock and mud down the Trishuli River on 26 August. Thousands remain missing, including workers who may have survived by taking shelter inside tunnels.
Officials estimate that about 900 missing people were linked to six hydropower plants in the affected valley. At least three of those facilities were still under construction.
The scale of the destruction has made the searches particularly difficult. Authorities estimate that around 2.2 million tonnes of mud and debris were deposited across the valley, altering the terrain and blocking tunnel entrances.
At the Chilime hydropower plant, engineers and rescue officials have been exchanging tunnel layouts and technical information through a WhatsApp group with more than 500 members.
No survivors have yet been found at Chilime, although Nepal's Independent Power Producers' Association said several people could be trapped there.
At the Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant, rescuers reached about 250 metres into a tunnel before it was blocked. Officials believe dozens of people may be trapped in a chamber where they could potentially have access to food and water.
Rescuers have also searched tunnels at the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower project, where the entrance was nearly six days away after being buried by debris. Teams have attempted to pump oxygen into possible cavities in case survivors remain trapped underground.
Workers who escaped described the flood as arriving within minutes and sweeping away buildings, equipment and entire sections of the valley.
The disaster also destroyed about 10 per cent of Nepal's electricity generation capacity, highlighting the scale of the reconstruction challenge facing the country.
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