Flood survivors in Nepal relief camps struggling to obtain essential medicines

Structures partially submerged in mud brought in by flash floods in Nepal (Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP)

Some survivors sheltering in relief camps after the deadly floods in Nepal are struggling 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 centre in Devighat, a town in one of the worst-affected areas in the district of Nuwakot, lost his younger brother in the floods last week.

He said the camp did not have the exact medicine prescribed for his heart condition.

Mr Karanjit only managed to get the cash he needed to buy his regular medicine after selling a carton of noodles he received as relief.

“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 centres staffed by doctors and stocked with medicine have been set up at each shelter. Mr Uprety said authorities were also focusing on hygiene and sanitation to reduce the risk of disease.

The floods on August 26 that were likely caused by a glacier collapse devastated towns and valleys in Nepal, destroying homes, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure.

At least 1,252 people were killed and more than 4,200 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.

Nearly 4,000 people displaced in Nepal are staying in 34 relief centres.

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

In the town of Bidur, 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 specialised 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.