Landslides, a lighting strike and flooding kill 22 in Nepal as officials warn of severe rainfall

Landslides, a lighting strike and flooding triggered by severe rainfall killed at least 22 people in Nepal and 12 others were reported missing on Sunday, officials said, Associated Press reported.

Several villages in Nepal’s eastern mountain district of Illam were swept away by landslides on Sunday, killing at least 18 people and leaving seven others missing, Nepal police spokesman Binod Ghimire said.

Six people in the same family were killed when a landslide crushed their home while they slept, Illam’s assistant administrative officer Bholanath Guragai said.

Rainfall was hampering efforts to reach the villages and many roads were swept away or blocked by the landslides. Guragai said helicopters from the central government were needed for medical evacuations, according to Associated Press.

Three other people in a separate district were killed as they were struck by lighting and one person died in flooding in southern Nepal.