Schools in Nepal were closed for three days after rain-triggered floods and landslides across the country killed 151 people and left 56 missing.
Due to the floods, traffic and daily activities were stopped in the Kathmandu area, where 37 deaths were recorded. About four million people live in that region.
"We have called on the relevant authorities to close schools in the affected areas for three days," Lakshmi Batarai, spokeswoman for the education ministry, told Reuters. Heavy rainfall is tapering off, but forecasters predict that isolated showers will continue.
Meteorologists blame the rain on a low pressure system in the Bay of Bengal that stretches across parts of neighboring India. The monsoon season brings rain and floods to Nepal every year, but scientists say the rainfall is becoming more intense due to climate change.
"I have never seen floods of this magnitude in Kathmandu before," said Arun Bakta Shresta, an environmental risk officer at the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development.
According to state media, around 10.000 policemen, volunteers and soldiers have been mobilized to help rescue and search for those missing in the floods.
The government of Nepal has urged people to avoid unnecessary travel, night driving is prohibited in the Kathmandu area, and many domestic flights have been cancelled.
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