Nepal to aid bereaved families as flood death toll rises to 205

KATHMANDU, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government decided on Monday evening to provide 200,000 Nepali rupees (1,497 U.S. dollars) in compensation to each of the bereaved families, as the death toll from monsoon rain-induced floods and landslides hit 205.

A three-day national mourning starting from Tuesday was also announced following a cabinet meeting.

"The national flag will be lowered to half-mast during the mourning period," said Minister for Communication and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung, who is also the government spokesperson.

He told the press that families who have members missing for more than 10 days in the disasters spelt by incessant rainfalls on Friday and Saturday shall receive the same amount of compensation.

The cabinet decided to allocate 1 billion rupees (7.48 million dollars) to the Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund, noted Gurung.

By Monday evening, 24 people remained missing and 130 others were injured, Nepal Police said in a statement, adding "the rescue efforts are ongoing."