KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The number of people killed by flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall over the weekend in Nepal reached 193 while recovery and rescue work stepped up Monday.
Many of the deaths were in the capital, Kathmandu, which got heavy rainfall, and much of southern part of the city was flooded. Police said in a statement that 31 people were still reported missing and 96 people were injured across the Himalayan nation.
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KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The number of people killed by flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall over the weekend in Nepal reached 193 while recovery and rescue work stepped up Monday.
Rescue personnel transport the dead body of a victim who was trapped under a landslide caused by heavy rains in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Sujan Gurung)
People watch earthmovers removing automobile debris and the dead bodies of victims trapped under a landslide caused by heavy rains in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Sujan Gurung)
Earthmovers remove mangled automobile debris from a landslide caused by heavy rains in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Sujan Gurung)
In this aerial image of the Kathmandu valley, Bagmati River is seen flooded due to heavy rains in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gopen Rai)
A landslide killed three dozen people on a blocked highway about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Kathmandu. The landslide buried at least three buses and other vehicles where people were sleeping because the highway was blocked.
Kathmandu had remained cut off all weekend as the three highways out of the city were blocked by landslides. Workers were able to temporarily open up the key Prithvi highway, removing rocks, mud and trees that had been washed from the mountains.
The home minister announced temporary shelters would be built for people who lost their homes and monetary help would be available for the families of those killed and to the people who were injured by the flooding and landslides.
Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli was returning home Monday from attending the U.N. General Assembly meeting and has called an emergency meeting, his office said.
Improved weather has allowed rescue and recovery work to be stepped up.
Residents in the southern part of Kathmandu, which was inundated on Saturday, were cleaning up houses as water levels began to recede. At least 34 people were killed in Kathmandu, which was the hardest hit by flooding.
Police and soldiers were assisting with rescue efforts, while heavy equipment was used to clear the landslides from the roads. The government announced it was closing schools and colleges across Nepal for the next three days.
The monsoon season began in June and usually ends by mid-September.
Meanwhile, in northern Bangladesh, about 60,000 people were affected by flooding in low-lying areas because of rains and rising water from upstream India.
People have taken shelter on roads and flood protection embankments in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram districts, the English-language Daily Star reported.
The River Teesta that crosses the border was overflowing at some points and the Dharala and Dudhkumar rivers in the Rangpur region were rising but remained below danger levels, the Dhaka-based Flood Forecasting and Warning Center said Monday. Waters could start receding in a day or two, it said.
Bangladesh is a low-lying delta nation crisscrossed by about 230 rivers, including more than 50 that cross borders.
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Rescue personnel transport the dead body of a victim who was trapped under a landslide caused by heavy rains in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Sujan Gurung)
Rescue personnel transport the dead body of a victim who was trapped under a landslide caused by heavy rains in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Sujan Gurung)
People watch earthmovers removing automobile debris and the dead bodies of victims trapped under a landslide caused by heavy rains in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Sujan Gurung)
Earthmovers remove mangled automobile debris from a landslide caused by heavy rains in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Sujan Gurung)
In this aerial image of the Kathmandu valley, Bagmati River is seen flooded due to heavy rains in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gopen Rai)
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian markets had a wild start to the week, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index tumbling nearly 5% while Chinese markets soared on news of fresh stimulus for the faltering economy.
Japanese shares sank after the ruling Liberal Democrats chose former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba to succeed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is due to step down on Tuesday.
Ishiba has expressed support for the Bank of Japan's moves to raise interest rates from their near-zero level. He also backs other policies, such as possibly raising corporate taxes, that are seen as less market friendly than his chief rival for the top job, Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, who he beat in a run-off vote late Friday.
The Nikkei closed 4.8% lower at 37,919.55.
The dollar fell from over 146 yen to under 143 yen after the ruling party’s vote ended late Friday. By late Monday Tokyo time, it was trading at 141.78 yen.
Exporters’ shares plunged, since a stronger yen is a disadvantage for Japanese companies that make a large share of their sales and profits overseas.
Toyota Motor Corp. dropped 7.6%. Honda Motor Co.'s shares fell 7% and Nissan Motor Co.'s declined 6%. Factory equipment maker Fanuc's shares sank 5.7%.
Ishiba has said he backs Kishida's “new capitalism” policies, which ostensibly would foster more equal distribution of national wealth. But sharply rising prices have undermined progress toward encouraging consumers to spend more.
Meanwhile, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 3.3% to 21,321.97, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index up 8.6%.
The Shanghai Composite index surged 6.8% to 3,298.03. The main index for China's smaller market in the southern city of Shenzhen jumped nearly 11%.
The rallies were auspiciously timed, coming on the eve of a week-long national holiday marking 75 years of communist rule in China. Markets in mainland China will be closed Tuesday through Oct. 7.
China is moving forward with measures announced last week to support the property industry and revive languishing financial markets. The central bank announced on Sunday that it would direct banks to cut mortgage rates for existing home loans by Oct. 31. Meanwhile, the major southern city of Guangzhou lifted all home purchase restrictions over the weekend, while both Shanghai and Shenzhen revealed plans to ease key buying curbs.
The effort to wrest the housing market out of a prolonged downturn comes as the economy shows signs of slowing further. China’s manufacturing activity in September contracted for a fifth consecutive month, as the official purchasing managers’ index came in at 49.8, remaining below the 50 line that separates expansion from contraction, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.7% to 8,273.10. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.9% to 2,627.13.
On Friday, the S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% from its all-time high to 5,738.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 42,313.00, setting its own record, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.4% to 18,119.59.
Treasury yields eased in the bond market after a report showed inflation slowed in August by a bit more than economists expected. It echoed similar numbers from earlier in the month about inflation, but Friday’s report has resonance because it’s the measure that officials at the Federal Reserve prefer to use.
The Fed kept its main interest rate at a two-decade high for more than a year, in hopes of slowing the economy enough to drive inflation toward its 2% target. Now that inflation has eased substantially from its peak two summers ago, the Fed has begun cutting rates to ease conditions for the slowing job market and prevent a recession.
The risk of a downturn remains and U.S. employers have slowed their hiring. A inflation report on Friday showed growth in U.S. consumer spending in August fell shy of economists’ expectations.
In other dealings Monday, benchmark U.S. crude oil added 40 cents to $68.58 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 45 cents at $71.99 per barrel.
The euro was trading at $1.1158, down from $1.1163.
The New York Stock Exchange, center, is shown on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
People walk by monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
A man walks by monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
A woman looks at monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm as she waits at an traffic intersection in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
A man stands by monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm as he waits at a traffic intersection in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
A man who called himself a trader takes a picture of monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
A man looks at monitors showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
