Floods ravage Nepal

KATHMANDU, Nepal, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Nepalese military helicopters and personnel joined others in rescuing thousands of people from flooded districts in the southeastern part of the country.

The flooding from an overflowing Koshi River has been made worse by a collapsed dam in the Sunsari district.

Sunsari's chief district officer said about 19,000 people were evacuated from the flood-affected areas but thousands more remained to be moved, the BBC reported.

Nepalnews.com reported Haripur, Sripur and Pachhim Kuswaha villages were among the worst affected.

Nepal's newly installed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal visited the affected regions and urged business leaders for rehabilitation assistance, the report said.

The report said more than 60,000 people had been displaced and said the death toll could be in the dozens.

The Koshi dam collapsed Monday, the BBC report said, adding Nepalese officials were negotiating with their counterparts across the border in India to rebuild the dam.

The report also said it would be about three weeks before the flooded road connecting the affected region to the rest of the country can be reopened for normal transportation.