NEPAL. – At least five people are missing after a flood swept through the Budhi Gandaki river valley in the Gorkha district in central Nepal on Sunday, 11 October. Homes, bridges, roads and infrastructure at a hydroelectric project have been damaged or washed away. More than 100 foreign trekkers have been stranded in the Manaslu area, according to reports, after floodwater damaged trekking routes and bridges.
The flood followed a landslide that temporarily blocked the river, after which the dammed water broke through. This new flood disaster comes after two previous major disasters.
Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority has warned residents along the river to move to higher and safer areas. Nepal's armed forces and other rescue teams have begun evacuation and search operations.
According to reports, 96 people, including nine foreigners, had been rescued from the affected areas by Monday. The extent of the damage is still being determined, while five residents remain missing. Bridges, roads, hydroelectric facilities and the livelihoods of hundreds of households have been affected.
On 26 August, a catastrophic flood following a rock and ice collapse near the Nepal-China border affected the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems. The UN later reported that around 1 450 people had died and more than 5 000 remained missing.
Heavy rain between 24 and 27 September then caused new floods and landslides. At least 12 people died in those incidents and seven were reported missing. The latest disaster in Gorkha underscores the continued danger for mountain communities and people living along rivers or travelling through the region.
Sources: United Nations, Associated Press, Nepali Times, The Kathmandu Post, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Nepal
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
