Five missing after landslide blocks river and triggers destructive flood in Nepal

NEPAL: Five people remain missing after a landslide blocked the Budhi Gandaki River in Gorkha district, Nepal, triggering a large flood that swept away houses, bridges and infrastructure.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said on Sunday that 47 people had been rescued from affected areas, with four Nepal Army helicopters deployed to support search and rescue operations.

The five missing people, comprising two women and three men, had been staying at a sheepfold in Ungiling, Chumchet, within Chumnubri Rural Municipality.

Landslide triggers flood that damages homes and bridges

According to the NDRRMA, the landslide occurred between Lokpa and Chumling in Ward 6 of Chumnubri Rural Municipality.

The resulting flood swept away the old suspension bridge connecting Nyakchet and Sirdibas in Ward 3, along with one house. Floodwater also entered another house in the area.

In neighbouring Dharche Rural Municipality, a suspension bridge linking Machhikhola and Kerauja was washed away.

Seven to eight houses at and around the construction site of Times Urja Pvt Ltd in Salleri, Ward 3, were also swept away, the authority said.

At Naya Pul in Arughat Rural Municipality, the flood damaged a bridge connecting Gorkha and Dhading districts, washing away the section on the Gorkha side. Another bridge at Soti, linking Wards 2 and 3 of Arughat, was also swept away.

More homes and hydropower infrastructure at risk

Floodwater entered the lower settlement of Machhikhola, putting between 20 and 22 houses at risk.

The flood also swept away the main camp area and some construction equipment belonging to the 341-megawatt Budhi Gandaki hydropower project.

Two telephone towers and 50 electricity poles were damaged, according to the NDRRMA.

Authorities deployed 25 police personnel from the Area Police Office in Arughat to alert riverside residents and help move them to safer locations. Twelve employees of Times Urja at Salleri were also evacuated.

Hundreds of security personnel deployed

A total of 437 security personnel have been mobilised for the response, including 127 Nepal Army personnel, 133 Nepal Police officers and 177 members of the Armed Police Force. The Nepal Army contingent includes three Special Forces units.

Another 50-member Nepal Police team remains on standby.

Early-warning messages were sent to communities along the river from Gorkha and Dhading to Benighat in Chitwan after the flood alert reached the Hydrology and Water Resources Research Centre's Flood Forecasting Division at 6am.

The NDRRMA also sent text-message alerts to 221 emergency responders across Gorkha, Dhading, Tanahun, Chitwan, East Nawalparasi and West Nawalparasi, as well as personnel at the central level.

The authority's monsoon response command post has been holding continuous meetings since about 6.30am to monitor conditions, assess the damage and coordinate emergency measures. Relief supplies have been transported by road and helicopter.

Authorities assess damage and warn riverside residents

A three-member team, including drone operators and geologists, has been deployed to investigate the cause of the incident.

Teams from the Department of Roads and the Department of Local Infrastructure Development are also assessing road access and whether Bailey bridges can be installed to restore connectivity.

Emergency medical response teams in Gorkha, Lamjung and Tanahun have been placed on standby.

The NDRRMA has urged residents along the Budhi Gandaki River to remain in safe locations through Sunday evening, avoid dangerous bridges and roads, and follow instructions from local authorities and security agencies.