UP, Bihar, Uttarakhand rush to evacuate as Nepal floods kill 160

Officials and agencies in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand were on high alert and started evacuating people from vulnerable areas in the border districts of these states following a flash flood upstream, in Nepal’s Bhote Koshi River in Rusuwa district that killed at least 160 people and left hundreds of tourists, including 133 Indians missing.

Flash floods in Himalayan rivers triggered by different factors such as earthquakes or Galcial Lake Overflow Flood (GLOF) are not uncommon. According to an analysis by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in February 2025, at least 1,015 flood events were reported in higher reaches of Himalayan region since 1950 across Nepal, India and China.

The flash flood about 200 kms north of India border may result in water level rising in rivers flowing from Nepal such as Gandak in Uttar Pradesh and parts of north Bihar. Trishuli river which intakes most of Bhote Koshi river that originates from Tibet, flows into Gandak. Heavy rain and gates of barrages in Nepal being opened could also cause more water flow into Ghaghara and Rapti rivers in Uttar Pradesh, and Kosi in Bihar.

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In Bihar, the government has ordered evacuation of people living in low lying impact areas in five districts — West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Sapaul and Muzaffarpur — as thousands of cusecs of additional water flow is expected.

At 5pm, the discharge from Valmikinagar barrage was 106,000 cusec. Officials said it may increase to 300,000 cusecs by Thursday morning. As a precaution, all 36 gates of the Valmikinagar barrage (designed capacity 850,000 cusecs) were opened in phases, government officials said.

West Champaran magistrate Taranjot Singh said all field formations have been activated in wake of water level rising Devghat in Nepal, about 80 km from Valmikinagar. At the Devghat gauge site on the Narayani in Nepal the water level stood at 4.77 metres—well below the warning level of 7.30 metres and the danger mark of nine metres. Discharge at the barrage rose steadily through the day from around 86,000 cusecs in the morning to about 144,800 cusecs by 4 pm.

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Bihar chief minister Samrat Choudhary said a close watch is being kept on the possibility of a rise in water level in the Gandak in view of the floods in Nepal. He said a committee under the chief secretary and the police chief has been formed to watch the situation. “If necessary, I will also visit Valmiki Nagar to assess the situation,” Choudhary said in Patna. Deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, who holds the WRD portfolio, said in a video message that the next five hours would be critical and urged people to stay alert but calm, noting that the administration was fully prepared. Later in the day, Union home minister Amit Shah spoke with Choudhary about the rescue operations. Officials said Shah assured Choudhary of all possible assistance from the Centre to tackle the potential crisis.

The official said that teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were being mobilised to handle any emergency. Gopalganj magistrate Sameer Saurabh said a 30-member NDRF team and a team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were at Chawahi near Gopalganj, from where families living in low-lying areas were being evacuated.

West Champaran magistrate Taranjot Singh said all the field formations have been activated in wake of water level rising Devghat in Nepal. “We are expecting about 300,000 cusecs of water at Valmikinagar barrage in the next five to six hours. As precautionary measures, all 36 gates of the Gandak barrage are being opened in a phased manner. Supply of water into the canal is being disrupted,” said Iqbal Anwar, an executive engineer in Valmikinagar.

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The Uttar Pradesh government has sounded an alert in Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts bordering Nepal. Officials of Uttarakhand Disaster Management Authority said officials in border districts such as Chamoli have been briefed about the floods.