Heavy casualties are feared after a massive flash flood swept through parts of northern Nepal early Wednesday, washing away villages and damaging infrastructure, including a hydropower dam. The deluge occurred in the Rasuwa district, an area north of Nepal's capital Kathmandu that borders the Himalayan region of Tibet and lies along Nepal's main trading route with China.
Officials believe the flood was triggered by melting snow that had fallen into the Bhote Koshi river, which flows from Tibet into Nepal. Several districts downstream have been placed on high alert. While the extent of the damage is expected to be severe, its scale remains difficult to estimate at this early stage, according to Narendra Pariyar, the chief district officer of Rasuwa, who spoke to BBC Nepali.
Search and rescue operations are underway, with 12 people rescued so far. Contact has been lost with all staff of a logistics company that had seven container trucks in the area, according to Yee Liang, a Chinese businessman based in Kathmandu. "As far as I know, there was no warning," he told the BBC. "There were occasional mudslides and landslides, especially in the rainy season, but this one seems much more serious."
Nepal's disaster management authority has urged residents living near river banks in vulnerable areas to remain alert and take necessary precautions. Following an emergency meeting to assess the situation, Prime Minister Balendra Shah announced on social media that efforts were being coordinated with medical teams, scouts, and the Red Cross.
Authorities confirmed that 13 officers from the armed police force are missing from two posts in Rasuwa district, and communication has been lost with dozens of other police personnel. This event follows deadly flooding in Rasuwa last year, which killed 18 people after a glacier burst on the Chinese side of the border. Officials have indicated that the scale of Wednesday's disaster may surpass that of the previous year's floods.