Kathmandu, Sept. 1 -- An estimated 43,000 women and girls in Nepal urgently need humanitarian assistance following the flash floods that swept through parts of the country on August 26, according to UN Women.

The UN agency said the disaster has disproportionately affected women and girls, particularly those who were already vulnerable because of poverty, disability, pregnancy, limited access to information and a lack of resources.

"Pregnant women, lactating women, people with disabilities, the people we would normally support - are gone, washed away, because they could not run to higher ground," one women-led organisation working in affected communities told UN Women.

"This is what happens when a disaster meets inequality: the people a...