Five go missing as flash floods hit Budhigandaki River

KATHMANDU: Five people went missing after flash floods surged down the Budhigandaki River following a landslide between Lokpa and Chumling in Gorkha district.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) confirmed the missing comprised two women and three men, all residents of Chumchet in Chumanuwri-6.

The floods caused widespread destruction, sweeping away houses, critical infrastructure, power lines, and telecommunications networks. NDRRMA Spokesperson Shanti Mahat said seven to eight houses were carried away and the under-construction Times Energy facility at Salleri in Dharche Rural Municipality-3 was damaged.

“The flood swept away an old suspension bridge linking Nyakchet and Sirdibas as well as a house there,” Mahat said. She added that a suspension bridge connecting Machhikhola with Karauja in Dharche Rural Municipality-5, a motorable bridge linking Gorkha from Arughat Rural Municipality-9 with Dhading, and another bridge linking Arughat Rural Municipality-2 and -3 were also washed away.

Settlements further downstream faced ongoing threats as water levels remained high. “The flood entered the lower settlement of Macchikhola, putting around 22 houses at risk. The main camp area of the 341-MW Budhigandaki hydropower project and some construction equipment were also swept away. Two telephone towers and 50 electric poles suffered damage due to flood,” Mahat added.

Emergency rescue operations were launched immediately. Local residents in downstream areas were moved to safer ground after flood reports arrived. Twenty-five personnel from the Area Police Office in Arughat were deployed to commence initial search and rescue efforts, and 12 staff members working at Times Energy were relocated to safe zones.

A total of 437 security personnel from the Nepali Army, the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force, Nepal (APF Nepal) were deployed across the flood-affected areas. NDRRMA Executive Chief Dr Dharam Raj Uprety confirmed four Nepali Army helicopters were engaged in search and rescue operations, and that 47 people had been airlifted to safety. Early warning alerts were sent by text message to residents in Gorkha, Dhading and Benighat in Chitwan shortly after the flood was detected.

(With inputs from RSS)