At least 100 dead and dozens missing after days of heavy rainfall

Major floods and landslides in Nepal have killed at least 100 people across the Himalayan nation, officials have reported.

Dozens more were still missing on Sunday after two days of intense rainfall, which has inundated the valley around the capital Kathmandu.

People have been left stranded on rooftops with workers carrying out rescuers on rafts. Thousands of homes near rivers have also been flooded and many highways blocked.

Despite rain forecast to continue to Tuesday, there were signs of some easing on Sunday.

So far, more than 3,000 people have been rescued according to a government spokesman.

But flash floods, along with landslides, have caused many deaths.

Five people, including a pregnant woman and a four-year-old girl, died when a house collapsed under a landslide in the city Bhaktapur, to the east of Kathmandu, state media reports.

Two bodies were removed from a bus buried by a landslide in Dhading, west of Kathmandu. Twelve people, including the driver, were said to be onboard.

Six football players were also killed by a landslide at a training centre operated by the All Nepal Football Association in Makwanpur, to the south-west of the capital.

Others have been swept up in the floodwaters. In one dramatic scene, four people were washed away by the Nakkhu River in the southern Kathmandu valley.

“For hours, they kept on pleading for help,” Jitendra Bhandari, an eyewitness, told the BBC. “We could do nothing.”

Hari Om Malla lost his truck after it was submerged by water in Kathmandu.

He told the BBC that water had “gushed” into the cabin as the rain intensified on Friday night.

“We jumped out, swam, and got away from it – but my purse, bag and mobile have been swept away by the river. I have nothing now. We stayed the whole night in the cold.”

Government spokesman Prithvi Subba Gurung told the state-run Nepal Television Corporation the flooding had also broken waterpipes, and affected telephone and power lines.

According to state media, 10,000 police officers, as well as volunteers and members of the army, have been mobilised as part of search and rescue efforts.

The Nepalese government urged people to avoid unnecessary travel, and banned driving at night in the Kathmandu valley.

Most highways – including the ones connecting Kathmandu valley with the rest of the country – also remain blocked in several places.

Air travel was also affected on Friday and Saturday, with many domestic flights delayed or cancelled.

Monsoon season brings floods and landslides every year in Nepal.

Scientists say, though, that rainfall events are becoming more intense due to climate change.

A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, while warmer ocean waters can energise storm systems, making them more erratic.