Nepal's president has issued an ordinance shortening the waiting period to legally declare missing disaster victims dead from 12 years to about 45 days, as more than 5,000 people remain unaccounted for after the Himalayan country's devastating August 26 flood.
The catastrophic flood, triggered by a mountain and glacier collapse on the China-Nepal border, sent tsunami-like floodwaters through several districts, destroying roads, bridges and hydropower dams and killing more than 1,400 people. Over a month after the disaster, more than 5,000 people are still missing, including hundreds of foreign nationals.
Why the law had to change
Under prior Nepalese law, a person had to be missing for 12 years before they could be legally declared dead. Families of the missing have been unable to obtain death certificates for more than a month, blocking access to compensation and the resolution of property issues. Some families have already held symbolic cremation ceremonies for relatives who remain missing.
"The 12-year period is being reduced to around 45 days," government spokesman Sasmit Pokharel told reporters after a cabinet meeting forwarded the ordinance to the president. Kiran Pokharel, press adviser to President Ram Chandra Poudel, confirmed to AFP on Friday that the ordinance relating to disaster laws had been issued.
Search called off
The decision follows the government's move last week to call off search and rescue operations, 40 days after the floods devastated communities along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers. Rescue teams had spent weeks combing through metres of mud and sediment; just 112 bodies have been identified and returned to their families so far. Authorities have now shifted focus to reconstruction and rehabilitation, with an estimated recovery cost of $4.77 billion.
Sources: NDTV: Nepal To Declare Flood Victims Dead If They Remain Missing For 1.5 Months; Free Malaysia Today: Nepal cuts wait period to declare missing flood victims dead
The catastrophic flood, triggered by a mountain and glacier collapse on the China-Nepal border, sent tsunami-like floodwaters through several districts, destroying roads, bridges and hydropower dams and killing more than 1,400 people. Over a month after the disaster, more than 5,000 people are still missing, including hundreds of foreign nationals.
Why the law had to change
Under prior Nepalese law, a person had to be missing for 12 years before they could be legally declared dead. Families of the missing have been unable to obtain death certificates for more than a month, blocking access to compensation and the resolution of property issues. Some families have already held symbolic cremation ceremonies for relatives who remain missing.
"The 12-year period is being reduced to around 45 days," government spokesman Sasmit Pokharel told reporters after a cabinet meeting forwarded the ordinance to the president. Kiran Pokharel, press adviser to President Ram Chandra Poudel, confirmed to AFP on Friday that the ordinance relating to disaster laws had been issued.
Search called off
The decision follows the government's move last week to call off search and rescue operations, 40 days after the floods devastated communities along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers. Rescue teams had spent weeks combing through metres of mud and sediment; just 112 bodies have been identified and returned to their families so far. Authorities have now shifted focus to reconstruction and rehabilitation, with an estimated recovery cost of $4.77 billion.
Sources: NDTV: Nepal To Declare Flood Victims Dead If They Remain Missing For 1.5 Months; Free Malaysia Today: Nepal cuts wait period to declare missing flood victims dead
