Authorities in Nepal have issued urgent evacuation orders for villagers residing along the banks of the Budhi Gandaki River after a dry landslide triggered significant downstream flooding. The incident occurred in Chumnubri village, located in the Gorkha district approximately 100 kilometres west of Kathmandu. Officials confirmed that while the floodwaters swept away several houses, two suspension bridges, and a highway bridge connecting Gorkha with the Dhading district, there have been no reported casualties so far.
Dharmendra Kumar Mishra, the senior-most bureaucrat of Gorkha district, stated that residents living in at-risk areas have been directed to move to safer locations immediately. The surge of water, characterized by heavy muddy sludge, also caused damage to a hydroelectric project camp. According to Dharam Raj Uprety, the head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 18 workers from the damaged project managed to reach safety. Additionally, security forces, including the army, conducted rescue operations, with reports indicating six individuals were saved from the village of Jagat due to the immediate landslide threat.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority has issued alerts for communities across the Gorkha, Tanahun, Chitwan, and both East and West Nawalparasi districts. Army and police personnel have been deployed to the affected regions to assist with ongoing relief efforts and are monitoring the evolving situation via helicopter surveillance. The Budhi Gandaki is a tributary of the Trishuli River, an area recently prone to major environmental disruptions. Authorities are currently coordinating search and rescue assistance to ensure that residents in downstream zones are evacuated before water levels rise further, while officials continue to track the movement of the debris and the stability of the riverbank areas.
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