Nepal to ban resettlement in flood-hit areas, 33,000 likely affected

KATHMANDU - Nepal's top disaster official said an estimated 33,000 people affected by last month's devastating flood will be required to resettle rather than returning home, as the South Asian nation grapples with the aftermath of the disaster that damaged over 7,500 buildings and has left thousands of people still missing.

Dharam Raj Uprety, chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, told Kyodo News in an exclusive interview that the areas where flood marks -- in some places 13 meters higher than normal river levels -- are visible are to be declared "danger zones."