Nepal cuts waiting period to declare disaster missing persons dead from 12 years to 45 days

Nepal has slashed the waiting period required to legally declare a disaster victim dead — from 12 years to roughly 45 days — opening the door for more than 5,000 families of those missing since August's catastrophic floods to claim government compensation and begin inheritance proceedings.

Kiran Pokharel, a communications aide to the Nepali president, said Friday that "an emergency ordinance on disaster-related laws has been issued," according to AFP. He did not disclose the specific provisions that were amended.

An emergency ordinance is issued by the president on the recommendation of the cabinet when parliament is not in session and carries the same legal force as legislation. The cabinet recommended the ordinance to the president on Wednesday. At that time, government spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel said the current 12-year period would be reduced to about 45 days, local outlet Onlinekhabar reported.

The measure is a direct response to the Aug. 26 floods, which marked their 45th day on Saturday. Torrents triggered by collapsing mountains and glaciers in Nepal's northern Himalayan highlands near the Chinese border swept through multiple districts across the north-central region.

The scale of the disaster remains large. As of Monday, at least 1,455 people had been killed and 5,285 were missing, Reuters reported. Of the bodies recovered, only 112 had been identified and returned to their families, AFP said.

Families of the missing have long faced administrative hurdles. Under Nepal's civil law, a person cannot be legally declared dead until 12 years after going missing. Without an official death certificate, families have been unable to receive government compensation or insurance payouts, and inheritance proceedings have been effectively blocked. While a legal mechanism exists for families to petition courts for individual death declarations, critics noted it is impractical when thousands of people go missing in a single disaster.

Nepal's government provides bereaved families of disaster victims with 200,000 Nepali rupees ($1,300) for the first victim, 100,000 rupees for each additional victim, and up to 25,000 rupees to cover funeral costs.

The BBC highlighted the case of Madan Lal Rawat, a resident of Betrawati village in Bagmati Province, who visited local authorities after five family members — including his brother Mangal — went missing, only to be turned away without a death certificate. "There is too much uncertainty," he told the BBC.

Nepal's official search operation is also shifting gears. As of Monday, Panindra Paudel, head of Nepal's National Emergency Operation Center, said the effort was transitioning "from the search-and-rescue phase to the search-and-recovery phase focused on retrieving bodies and stabilizing the site," Reuters reported.

The search for nine missing South Koreans is also nearing its end. The missing workers — three employees of Korea South-East Power (KOEN) and six from Doosan Enerbility — had been working at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant construction site in Rasuwa district, Bagmati Province. Yonhap reported Saturday that both companies plan to conclude conventional ground searches this weekend, leaving only excavation work using heavy machinery such as excavators. The shift comes as Nepal's biggest holiday, Dashain, begins Sunday, making it difficult to secure local workers.

The emergency ordinance must receive approval from both houses of parliament when the legislature reconvenes; it will lose effect if that approval is not granted. Detailed guidelines on the administrative procedures families must follow to obtain a death declaration have yet to be announced.