Nepal floods, landslides leave at least 148 dead

Deaths from monsoon floods and landslides in Nepal rose to 148 on Sunday, with dozens of people still missing.

Authorities say the toll is expected to climb further as reports come in from villages across the Himalayan nation.

Torrential rains began late on Thursday and have since battered much of the country, particularly the eastern and central regions.

Weather conditions improved on Sunday, allowing rescue, recovery and clean-up efforts to go on.

Kathmandu hit hard

Over half the deaths have been recorded in the capital, Kathmandu, and surrounding districts.

Local reports say the rainfall is the worst Kathmandu has witnessed in decades.

Whole neighborhoods in the city were inundated over the weekend amid reports of flash floods in rivers that cut through Kathmandu.

The capital remained severed on Sunday as many key roads connecting it to the rest of the country were blocked by landslides.

The weather improved on Sunday following three days of monsoon rains and rescue and clean-up efforts were underway.

Rescuers retrieved 14 bodies overnight from two buses which were buried in rubble on a highway near Kathmandu.

More vehicles were still buried at the same spot as rescue teams dug through mud and rocks trying to find people.

Power and internet outages have also been reported in some areas.

Meanwhile, the government has shut schools and colleges across Nepal for three days.

Weather officials blame the heavy rainfall on a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal extending over parts of neighboring India.

dvv/nm (AP, dpa, Reuters)