Photos: Nepal begins burying flood victims in mass graves - Al Jazeera

**Photos: Nepal Begins Burying Flood Victims in Mass Graves**

The monsoon deluge that swept across central Nepal in early August 2024 has left a trail of destruction, claiming more than 150 lives and leaving hundreds still unaccounted for. Rivers swollen by unprecedented rainfall burst their banks, inundating villages in the districts of Rasuwa, Sindhupalchok and Kathmandu valley. As makeshift shelters filled with displaced families, local hospitals and mortuaries quickly ran out of space, prompting authorities to turn to mass burial sites for the deceased. Photographs released by Al Jazeera show rows of shrouded bodies being lowered into hastily prepared graves, a stark visual of the humanitarian crisis that has overwhelmed the nation’s emergency response capacity.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, speaking from the capital, declared a state of emergency and ordered the deployment of the Nepalese Army, the Armed Police Force and volunteer groups to assist with recovery operations. The government has set up temporary morgues in schools and community halls, but the sheer scale of fatalities has outpaced these efforts. International partners, including India’s National Disaster Response Force and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, have dispatched rescue teams, medical supplies, and forensic experts to help identify victims and locate the missing. In Delhi, the Nepali diaspora has organized a census of those presumed lost, underscoring the cross‑border emotional toll of the disaster.

As search-and-rescue crews continue to comb flooded terrain for survivors, families are left grappling with grief and uncertainty. The Red Cross and local NGOs are providing counseling, food parcels, and temporary housing, while the Ministry of Health coordinates the distribution of vaccines to prevent disease outbreaks in the crowded camps. Despite the ongoing relief effort, community leaders warn that the prolonged displacement and loss of livelihoods could exacerbate the region’s socioeconomic vulnerabilities. The coming weeks will be crucial for both honoring the dead through dignified burials and rebuilding the shattered infrastructure that once sustained these mountain communities.