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Delivering relief to people affected by devastating floods and landslides in Nepal has emerged as the biggest challenge, despite emergency aid and rescue teams reaching the country, a UN official has said.
Lila Peters Yahia, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal, told the BBC that relief supplies and other emergency assistance were arriving in the country, but reaching people in remote disaster-hit areas remained difficult due to severely damaged roads and communications infrastructure.
Rescue teams from India and China, which arrived in Nepal on Saturday, are also assisting with relief and rescue operations. However, they too are facing difficulties accessing remote and badly affected areas, Yahia said.
The Nepalese government is using helicopters to deliver essential relief supplies to stranded communities. Authorities are also considering using drones to reach areas inaccessible by road.
Adverse weather conditions are further complicating rescue and relief efforts, according to the UN official.
Rain warnings remain in place in several affected areas through Monday, raising concerns that further rainfall could worsen flooding and landslides.
The disasters have severely damaged roads, bridges and other transport infrastructure across Nepal, making ground access difficult. Rescue teams are searching for missing people, evacuating those stranded and delivering food, water and other essential supplies to affected communities.