Nepal cuts wait to declare missing flood victims dead

Nepal's president has shortened the wait to declare missing disaster victims dead from 12 years to about 45 days, after an August 26 flood left more than 5,000 people unaccounted for.

The flood was triggered by a mountain and glacier collapse on the China-Nepal border. Floodwaters swept through several districts, destroying roads, bridges and hydropower dams, and killing more than 1,400 people.

More than 5,000 people remain missing, including hundreds of foreign nationals. So far, 112 bodies have been identified and returned to families.

Government spokesman Sasmit Pokharel said this week that the 12-year period was being reduced to around 45 days after the cabinet forwarded an ordinance to the president. Kiran Pokharel, press adviser to President Ram Chandra Poudel, said Friday that the disaster-law ordinance had been issued, without giving details of the amendments.

Families of missing victims have been unable to obtain death certificates, limiting access to compensation and complicating property matters. Some families have held symbolic cremation ceremonies for relatives who remain missing.