A sudden flash flood in Nepal’s Gorkha district has turned a calm river valley into a torrent of destruction, erasing homes, bridges and a hydropower project camp along the Budhi Gandaki River.
Army rescue teams entered the affected area on Sunday, bringing 49 people to safety. Officials, however, confirmed that five individuals remain missing and are still being searched for.
Eyewitnesses and authorities say the flood was almost certainly caused by a landslide upstream, which sent a wall of water downriver at high velocity.
Four bridges spanning the river were swept away, and almost two dozen houses were buried under the debris. A camp set up at a hydropower project, intended to supply power to the region, was also inundated and severely damaged.
This tragedy arrives at a time when Nepal is still grappling with the aftermath of earlier catastrophic flooding and landslides that devastated towns along its border with Tibet only two months ago. The earlier disaster already left thousands dead, missing and without homes, and the new flood threatens to compound the humanitarian crisis.
Civilian and military teams remain on the ground, working to clear debris, assess structural damage and locate the missing. International relief agencies are poised to provide emergency assistance once the immediate danger passes.
Related Topics: Nepal, Floods
