Nepal flash floods kill eight, damage roads

Nepal yesterday deployed helicopters after a massive flash flood swept away villages in the Himalayan nation, killing eight and damaging roads, bridges and power projects in areas near Tibet, authorities said.

Across the border, Tibet reported “major casualties” with some missing in neighboring Gyirong County after a mudslide hit a land crossing between China and Nepal, Xinhua news agency said.

The waters were too high for helicopters to land in Nepal’s affected areas of Syapru Besi and Timure in the mountainous Rasuwa District, with a population of about 50,000, officials said, while flagging the risk of casualties.

People watch a torrent of muddy water surge through a river after flash floods in Nepal yesterday.

Photo: AFP

“There could be heavy casualties or loss of property,” Rasuwa Chief District Officer Narendra Pariyar said. “But I cannot say for sure now.”

Pariyar urged those living on the banks of the Bhote Koshi River in the area to seek higher ground, pointing to reports that nearby villages and infrastructure project sites were washed away.

“It all came suddenly,” the Onlinekhabar portal quoted a witness from the area as saying. “We heard a loud sound, like a volcano erupting. People started to scream and ran away.”

People look at houses partially submerged in muddy water after flash floods in Nepal’s Nuwakot District yesterday.

Photo: AFP

The cause of the inundation was not immediately clear, but a deadly flash flood on the same river last year was eventually traced to the draining of a glacier lake.

The mudslide on the Nepalese side hit China’s Port of Gyirong, cutting off roads, communications and power in the Shigatse region near the border with Nepal, Xinhua said, without giving details.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) urged “all-out” search efforts for the missing as well as stronger monitoring and early warning systems to prevent secondary disasters.

The Nepalese Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said that 430 megawatts of electricity supplies were affected, mostly from hydroelectric projects, or more than 12 percent of total national hydropower capacity of 3.2 gigawatts, a Reuters calculation showed.

Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah said police and military were joining rescue and relief teams.

“Instructions have been given ... to move the people living in the lower areas to safer places,” he said. “People along the river are advised to exercise extra caution and remain alert.”

From its origins in Tibet, the Bhote Koshi empties into Nepal’s Trishuli River, which eventually flows into India as the Gandak river.