Amid the mounting devastation caused by the deadly flash floods in Nepal, Sharmistha Bhowmik Roy, daughter-in-law of former Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy, has been reported missing.
Sharmistha travelled to Nepal with a travel agency on August 21. She has remained unreachable since Wednesday, raising serious concerns among her family.
Her husband and Mukul Roy’s son, Shubhranshu Roy, said the family has so far been unable to establish contact with her.
The development comes as Nepal continues to grapple with the aftermath of massive floods and mudslides that have devastated several areas along the Nepal-Tibet region.
270 Bodies Recovered, Hundreds Still Missing
The scale of the disaster continues to grow. Nepal Police said in its latest update that 270 bodies have been recovered from areas hit by Wednesday’s floods.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority has separately reported 826 people missing in the country. It remains unclear whether this figure overlaps with numbers reported by Chinese authorities.
Across the border, China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported that the number of people missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county has climbed to 558, including 260 foreign nationals.
China has also said around 100 Chinese nationals are believed to be missing following the flash floods in Nepal. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing was maintaining close communication with Nepal and supporting search-and-rescue operations.
Disaster Expert Warns of More Waves
With rescue teams still working through devastated areas, experts have warned that the danger may not be over.
Basanta Raj Adhikari, director of the Centre for Disaster Studies at Tribhuvan University in Nepal, told BBC Newsday that there could be a possibility of “second and third waves” in the coming hours or days.
“We don't know yet,” Adhikari said, while explaining that he remains in contact with colleagues in China who are monitoring developments.
Although there was no significant rainfall at the time, he warned that further landslides could trigger additional destruction. “There isn't high rainfall, but [a] landslide might happen,” he said.
Adhikari also pointed to the growing threat posed by changing conditions in the Himalayas.
“Climate change is really happening here,” he said, adding that experts had been monitoring hazards across the Himalayan mountain region.
