Trading food for medicine and crossing the river by zip line are part of life in Nepal flood zone

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Some survivors sheltering in relief camps after deadly floods in Nepal struggled Thursday to obtain essential medicines and cash, even as authorities provided food and other basic supplies to thousands of displaced people.

The shortages are adding to the hardships of those living in temporary shelters after having lost homes and belongings.

Suresh Kumar Karanjit, who has been staying at a relief center in Devighat, a town in one of the worst-affected areas in Nuwakot district, lost his younger brother in the floods last week. He said the camp did not have the exact medicine prescribed for his heart condition.

Karanjit only managed to get the cash he needed to buy his regular medicine after selling a carton of noodles he received as relief for 400 rupees ($2.60). “We have been living here for a week. The relief materials are being provided, which is good. But there is a lack of medicine,” he said.

Nepal’s disaster chief, Dharam Raj Uprety, said health centers staffed by doctors and stocked with medicine have been set up at each shelter. Uprety said authorities were also focusing on hygiene and sanitation to reduce the risk of disease.

The Aug. 26 floods that were likely caused by a glacier collapse devastated towns and valleys in Nepal, destroying homes, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure. At least 1,259 people were killed and more than 5,000 remain missing, according to the country’s disaster management agency. China, as of late Wednesday, said 21 people were killed and 541 were missing on the Tibet side of the border.

More than 4,500 people displaced in Nepal are staying in 38 relief centers.

In some of the worst-affected areas, residents were finding other ways to navigate after floodwaters left communities cut off from regular routes.

In Bidur town, along the Trishuli River, residents used a temporary zip line to cross between the riverbanks. Army personnel helped people onto the makeshift crossing and assisted them as they reached the opposite bank, while others waited along the riverbank for their turn.

Meanwhile, rescue efforts have increasingly focused on tunnels at several hydroelectric projects where workers are believed to be trapped. About 900 workers remain missing, while specialized rescue teams from India, China and the United States are involved in efforts to reach those trapped in the tunnels.

It was unclear whether workers feared to be trapped in the tunnels were alive.

At the Trishuli-3A tunnel, workers began manually opening the upper section of the passage, according to lawmaker Ram Neupane. An access road was built over the past week to reach the excavation site, but more rock blasting and debris clearing will be needed before heavy machinery can reach the area, he said.