Nepal Urges Evacuations as Landslide-Triggered Flood Sweeps Homes

Nepalese authorities on Sunday urged villagers in the central part of the country to evacuate their homes following a flood triggered by a landslide that swept away several houses and infrastructure.

The incident occurred in Chumnubri village in the Gorkha district, approximately 62 miles west of the capital Kathmandu. A dry landslide blocked the Budhi Gandaki River, leading to a surge in downstream water levels, according to officials.

"We have asked villagers living along the river banks downstream to evacuate and remain safe," said Dharmendra Kumar Mishra, the Gorkha district’s top bureaucrat. He reported that about a dozen houses and two suspension bridges were destroyed, and a hydroelectric project camp sustained damage.

The swollen Budhi Gandaki River, carrying muddy sludge, has also washed away a highway bridge that connected Gorkha with the neighboring Dhading district, according to Dharam Raj Uprety, chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

The army rescued six people from Jagat who were at risk from a landslide, Prime Minister Balendra Shah announced on social media. Additionally, 18 workers from the affected hydroelectric project camp managed to escape to safety, Uprety confirmed.

National disaster authorities issued alerts to residents in at-risk areas along the river in the Gorkha, Tanahun, Chitwan, East Nawalparasi, and West Nawalparasi districts. "Please help ensure that people in at-risk areas are moved to safe locations in time and assist search and rescue operations as needed," the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority stated in a social media post.

Army and police rescue teams have been deployed to the area and are monitoring the situation, including with helicopter surveillance. This incident follows a catastrophic flood in August, triggered by a glacier collapse in a tributary of the Trishuli River, which resulted in 1,457 deaths and thousands missing.