Flash Flood Hits Central Nepal After Landslide Dam Breach: 5 Missing, 49 Rescued as Homes and Bridges Swept Away
Flash flooding struck central Nepal early Sunday after a landslide temporarily dammed the Budhi Gandaki River and the natural dam then breached, Reuters and the Associated Press reported. A landslide near Chumnubri village in Gorkha district, about 100 km (62 miles) west of Kathmandu, blocked the river; the blockage then failed, sending water, mud and debris surging downstream. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), citing preliminary accounts from Nepal's authorities, said the flooding began around 4:00 a.m. Nepal time on Oct. 11.
Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said five people — two women and three men, all reported from Gorkha district — were out of contact, with no confirmed deaths. The Nepal Army said 49 people, including a foreigner, had been rescued, and 36 stranded people were airlifted to safer locations, with search and rescue operations continuing.
Early damage reports varied. Reuters reported about a dozen houses and two suspension bridges swept away, a hydropower project camp damaged with construction equipment carried off, and a highway bridge linking Gorkha with the neighboring Dhading district washed out. The Associated Press, via Bangladesh's UNB, quoted Armed Police Force spokesperson Netra Bahadur Karki as saying 65 houses were swept away across Gorkha and Dhading districts, along with two motorable bridges and two suspension bridges; other outlets reported the number of missing could be as high as 10.
Dharmendra Kumar Mishra, Gorkha district's top official, said villagers living along the riverbanks downstream had been asked to evacuate to safe ground, and national disaster authorities issued alerts for the Gorkha, Tanahun, Chitwan, East Nawalparasi and West Nawalparasi districts.
The disaster comes two months after a catastrophic flood on another tributary in August, triggered by a glacier collapse, killed 1,457 people and left thousands missing; Nepal is still recovering from that event.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 尼泊尔布迪甘达基河谷的萨姆多村（CC BY-SA 4.0，Nabin K. Sapkota，Wikimedia Commons）
