Nepal races to restore bridges, road links after devastating floods

Nepal is racing to restore roads and bridges destroyed by devastating flash floods as authorities seek temporary structures from India and China to reconnect communities cut off by the disaster.

The death toll from the 26 August disaster stood at 1,356, while 4,994 people remained missing as of Monday, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA). A total of 13,396 people have been rescued.

The floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border, sent the Bhotekoshi River surging downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects across northern and central Nepal.

Nepal has sought temporary bridges from both India and China, with both countries responding positively. China has already sent two 100-metre Bailey bridges to the Korala border crossing in Mustang, The Kathmandu Post reported.

The Department of Roads has estimated damage to roads and bridges at NPR 30 billion, while rebuilding them is expected to cost about NPR 50 billion.

The floods destroyed 41 motorable bridges between Rasuwa and Chitwan, while four others were partially damaged. Only 18 of the 63 bridges along the corridor remain intact.

Several important road connections have also been severed. In Rasuwa, the disaster cut the road link with Nuwakot, while the concrete bridge at Furke Khola was destroyed, breaking the direct connection between Dhadingbesi, the Dhading district headquarters, and the Prithvi Highway.

The Department of Roads has begun clearing stretches washed away by the floods to enable the installation of temporary bridges, according to Shubharaj Neupane, deputy director general and spokesperson for the department.

The Nepali Army is separately installing an Acrow bridge at Devighat in Nuwakot.

The Department of Roads has 11 Bailey bridges, each up to 48 metres long, but transporting them to damaged locations remains a major challenge because roads leading to several sites have also been washed away.

“Even where Bailey bridges are available, there is no road to transport them to the sites. Work is underway to reopen the tracks damaged by the floods,” Sushil Babu Dhakal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, said.

India has also offered to supply Bailey bridges, according to the report.

The scale of the infrastructure destruction is complicating not only the restoration of transport links but also ongoing recovery efforts. Authorities are struggling to identify bodies recovered from floodwaters, with only 98 bodies identified and handed over to families as of Monday, according to the NDRRMA.

Many recovered bodies were severely damaged, decomposed or found only in parts after being swept downstream, making identification difficult.

The disaster also killed at least 43 people on the Chinese side, while more than 500 people remain missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports.