Nepal raises flood missing toll by nearly 1,000 people to 6,150

The scale of the flood was unlike anything witnesses had seen before.(AFP) — Nepal’s disaster authority said Wednesday it had sharply increased the number of people considered missing after the Aug. 26 flood to 6,150 following data collection and verification in affected districts.“We have been collecting details on the missing people from the district offices and revised the data after verification,” disaster authority spokesperson Shanti Mahat told AFP.The figure rose from the 5,179 reported a day earlier.The number of bodies recovered stood at 1,403, of which 105 had been identified, according to the disaster agency.Across the border in China, 43 people were dead and 519 were missing, according to state media.The combined toll from the deadly glacial mountain collapse on the Nepal-China border stood at 1,446 people dead and at least 6,669 missing in the two countries.Several hundred foreigners, including tourists and pilgrims, were among those missing.The scale of the flood was unlike anything witnesses had seen before, with the Nepali government pointing to the severe effects of rising global temperatures on the Himalayan mountains.Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people, contributes a fraction of the global greenhouse gas emissions produced by industrialized nations.Prime Minister Balendra Shah will make his first foreign trip as leader to address the U.N. General Assembly on the urgent issue next week.Nepal estimates that reconstruction after the deadly floods will cost $4.78 billion.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads