UN’s Nepal chief makes plea for flood-hit country

KATHMANDU: The United Nations chief in Nepal issued an emotional plea for aid on Sunday, saying survivors of the catastrophic flooding had seen their lives transformed in just 'one to two minutes'. After visiting battered mountain communities, UN Resident Coordinator Lila Pieters Yahia said that people were struggling to comprehend how suddenly their Himalayan homes had become an expanse of ruin and destruction. 'You lose your home, you lose your livelihood, you lose your loved one and you lose the breadwinner of your family,' Pieters Yahia said in Kathmandu. 'And you know, this happened in one to two minutes.'
The UN has launched a $50 million appeal to help more than 84,000 people affected by the disaster. 'Those people are cut off from the rest of the world because the road is gone,' Pieters Yahia said. 'You try to find a solution to expedite access, and you find another bottleneck. We're looking into all means, but we need to to improve access.'
Floods tore through mountain districts, destroying roads, bridges and hydropower dams. The destruction means journeys that once took a couple of hours have now become day-long ordeals. — AFP