More than 5,000 people remain missing in Nepal after devastating floods and landslides along the country’s border with China, even as search and rescue operations have largely ended. With the bodies of missing relatives yet to be recovered, families are facing not only grief and uncertainty but also a growing legal crisis, as the absence of death certificates is preventing them from accessing compensation, transferring property and settling inheritance claims.
Madan Lal Lawat, a resident of Betrabati village, was among those who gathered last month at Kathmandu’s Pashupatinath Temple to remember relatives who disappeared in the disaster. His brother Mangal and four other relatives were swept away by the floodwaters.
Lawat survived because he was outside the village at the time. He said his brother was swept away while helping warn residents as floodwaters surged through the area.
For families like his, the question of whether the missing will ever be found has become increasingly painful. Lawat said he does not know how he can begin rebuilding his life without knowing the fate of his relatives. Although police have continued efforts to recover bodies, he fears many of those missing may never be found.
Nepal’s existing law generally allows a missing person to be legally presumed dead only after 12 years. The law, however, contains no clear provision for immediately declaring people dead in exceptional circumstances such as a major natural disaster.
That legal gap has left thousands of families caught between loss and legal recognition, unable to claim compensation or resolve property and inheritance matters.
Legal expert Bipin Adhikari has called for Nepal’s law to be amended to reflect the realities of large-scale disasters. Keeping families waiting for years before they can obtain legal recognition of a missing relative’s death, he said, is neither practical nor humane.
More than 1,400 bodies have so far been recovered from the floods and landslides, but the identification process has been slowed by delays in DNA testing, prolonging the wait for families desperate for confirmation.
Government figures show that 7,570 buildings across Nepal were damaged or completely destroyed in the disaster. Betrabati was among the worst-hit areas, with more than 3,000 structures damaged. Rajan Shrestha, mayor of Bidur, has warned that under the existing legal framework, families of the missing could face a wait of up to 12 years before their relatives can be legally declared dead.
The government, however, has indicated that it is considering measures to resolve the legal difficulties created by the disaster and is prepared to amend the law if necessary.
Beyond the immediate humanitarian crisis, Nepal faces a daunting economic challenge in rebuilding communities devastated by the floods. Preliminary estimates suggest reconstruction could cost as much as $4.8 billion. Addressing the United Nations, Prime Minister Balen Shah said the rebuilding effort could require more than 10% of the country’s gross domestic product and called for international assistance in the form of grants rather than loans.
For many survivors, the disaster has compounded earlier losses. Tisum Ghal had moved to Betrabati after losing his home in the 2015 earthquake. This time, he lost 19 relatives in the floods, including five sisters.
Because their bodies have not been recovered, Ghal has yet to receive compensation. He is now considering holding funeral rites for his relatives without their remains.
For Ghal and thousands of other families, the search for loved ones, legal recognition of their deaths and access to government assistance remain suspended in uncertainty long after the floodwaters have receded.
Source: Nepal government data, United Nations and related sources