Nepal flash floods kill 162 after ice avalanche blocks border river

The death toll from the massive flash floods in Nepal rose to 162, with scores of people, including security personnel and foreign tourists, still missing, according to a media report. The floods on Wednesday swept away homes, vehicles and other property across three districts in one of the country’s worst disasters in recent years.

A preliminary assessment by disaster management authorities said the flooding was likely triggered after an ice avalanche upstream blocked a river on the Nepal-China border. The flood then moved through Timure near Rasuwagadhi and surged downstream, causing widespread destruction and disrupting roads, power projects and banking services.

According to The Kathmandu Post, the flash flood was caused after an avalanche blocked the flow of the Lhende tributary of the Bhotekoshi and first hit Timure, near Nepal’s border with China at Rasuwagadhi. Much of the settlement, home to hundreds of people, was swept away before the flood moved downstream. As there was no rainfall reported in the area, residents had no warning and were carrying on with their daily routines when the flood struck.

As the scale of the disaster emerged, Rajendra Dhungana, chief customs officer in Rasuwa, and dozens of others fled into the nearby forest. More than 300 vehicles and trucks waiting at the customs checkpoint were washed away. The Post said the mid-morning flash flood on the Bhotekoshi River caused havoc across three districts on Wednesday.

Disaster management authorities said on Thursday that a preliminary assessment suggested the flash flood in the Trishuli River was caused by an ice avalanche upstream blocking the Lendhe River. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said a debris-laden flood occurred in the Lendhe River following an ice-rock landslide at the Nepal-China border, about 20 kilometres northeast of Rasuwagadhi. “The same flood appears to have entered the Trishuli River after passing through Timure,” the authority said, amid various theories and assessments about the cause of the flood, which it said has now become a recurring issue.

Disaster expert Basanta Raj Adhikari also said that an ice avalanche took place in the Lendhe River, about 20 kilometres upstream of Rasuwagadhi, blocking the river and causing the flooding, My Republica reported on Thursday.

Meanwhile, floodwaters and landslides have blocked or disrupted road sections, including a national highway, in nine districts, according to Nepal Police. In some places, mud and rocks have blocked the roads, while in others transport has been stopped because of possible flood-related risks. A section of the national highway from Nagdhunga in Kathmandu to Mugling has been shut completely for an indefinite period. Transport services have also been halted on the Mechi Highway in Ilam, the BP Highway in Kavre, the Kanti Lokpath in Makwanpur, the national highways of Rasuwa and Nuwakot, the Prithvi Highway in Dhading, the national highway connecting Chitwan, and the Jajarkot Dolpa road section in Rukum West.

The floods have also destroyed nine hydropower projects and nine branches of commercial banks. A preliminary report said 19 motorable bridges and 40 kilometres of highway were swept away, while no full account of private and public property losses was available so far. Based on the number of people unaccounted for, security officials and disaster experts said Wednesday’s flood could rank among the deadliest in Nepal’s modern history and may surpass every disaster since the 1993 floods in Sarlahi, Rautahat and Makawanpur, which killed 1,400 people.

So far, the disaster has left 162 people dead, many others missing, and caused heavy damage to settlements, transport links and infrastructure, with authorities continuing to assess the full scale of the destruction and the cause of the floods.

With PTI Inputs