KATHMANDU — Thousands of families in Nepal cannot access compensation or manage inheritance a month after devastating floods killed more than 1,400 people, as authorities struggle to officially declare relatives dead without identified remains.
The administrative paralysis has left families unable to claim government aid, transfer property or settle estates. The delay stems from Nepal's limited capacity to process DNA identification on such a scale and a legal framework that lacks provisions for disasters of this magnitude.
The floods damaged or destroyed 7,570 private buildings and displaced nearly 33,000 people, according to Nepal's latest assessment. Bidur municipality, spanning parts of Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, suffered the heaviest damage with over 3,000 buildings destroyed or damaged.
The village of Betrawati, within Bidur, was nearly erased. Roads to the area were cut off from Kathmandu for days. Floodwaters consumed most of the village in minutes, leaving hardened mud and silt. The market, Uttargaya School and dozens of homes disappeared. School buses overturned in the surge.
Authorities have recovered more than 1,400 bodies. Identifying them is slow: officials have collected DNA samples from recovered remains, buried them with markers and are waiting for families to come forward with reference samples. The process could extend for years.
Nepal's Civil Code, Section 40, provides limited exceptions for declaring death without a body but contains no specific provision for disasters. Local officials are urging the prime minister's office to create an expedited pathway.
"Everything is on hold," said Rajan Shrestha, Mayor of Bidur. He estimated it could take up to 12 years for families to access the funds they are legally entitled to.
Compensation remains inadequate. Nepal, one of South Asia's smallest economies, has offered limited sums that bear little relation to the scale of losses sustained by families and communities.
Thousands remain missing. Rescuers continue searching for individuals believed trapped in six hydropower project tunnels. Families in temporary shelters in northern Nepal report ongoing struggles with safety and privacy.
Mangal Lawat is among those in official limbo. Survivors say he died going door-to-door warning neighbors to evacuate as the floodwaters rose.
