Kathmandu, Oct 11: A debris-laden flash flood in the Budhi Gandaki River swept away more than 35 houses and several bridges in Nepal’s Gorkha district on Sunday, prompting authorities to urge residents living along the river to evacuate to higher ground.
The flood damaged settlements in Salleri, Paiyuka and the riverbed area of Jagat, besides sweeping away a suspension bridge connecting local wards, Ram Kumar Gurung, ward chair of Chumnubri Rural Municipality-3, was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.
Gorkha Chief District Officer Dharmendra Kumar Mishra said preliminary reports suggested that a landslide had occurred above Siuribas. No casualties had been reported so far, he said.
The cause of the sudden surge remained unclear. Residents suspected that the Syar stream, a tributary of the Budhi Gandaki River between Lokpa and Chumling in Chumnubri-6, might have been blocked, triggering the flash flood.
Chumnubri Rural Municipality Deputy Chair Laxmi Gurung said the flooding, which struck the Budhi Gandaki early Sunday morning, was reminiscent of the devastating Bhotekoshi flood in Rasuwa district, according to the Online Khabar news portal.
“The Budhi Gandaki flood is reminiscent of the Bhotekoshi flood. It has washed away dozens of houses. It is not possible to determine the exact extent of the damage at this stage,” she said.
Nepal Home Minister Sudan Gurung said the flood had also swept away the bridge connecting Nyakchet and Philim Bazaar in Chumnubri-3. With water levels continuing to rise, helicopters had been deployed for rescue operations, relief distribution and evacuations.
Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and local authorities were mobilised to conduct rescue and relief operations.
“The flood came early in the morning, and we could not even take out our belongings,” Ram Kumar said, adding that residents fled immediately after receiving warnings about the approaching flood.
The full extent of the damage was not yet known, he said.
Residents of riverside settlements, including Chumling and Lokpa, fled their homes after hearing loud roaring sounds from nearby streams from around 4 am. Tourists staying at local hotels also evacuated, residents said.
Sherap Gurung, a resident of Lokpa, said the sound suggested that the water flow had repeatedly stopped and resumed.
“Because it was dark, we could not tell whether the stream had been blocked or a landslide had occurred. It had not rained either,” he said.
Authorities were using loudspeakers to alert people living along the river and direct them towards safer locations.
The latest flooding has raised concerns among residents, particularly following the devastating floods that struck the Bhote Koshi River in Rasuwa district on August 26. The supplied report said flooding in the Rasuwa and Trishuli river areas claimed 1,455 lives, while 5,285 people remained missing, according to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).
