At least eight people have died after a sudden surge in the Bhotekoshi River triggered a massive flash flood in Nepal’s northern Rasuwa district bordering China on Wednesday, with rescue and relief operations underway across several affected areas.
Nepal Police spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle told AFP that eight bodies had been recovered so far and that rescue operations were continuing.
Separately, the bodies of three men and a woman were recovered from Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot district after the flash flood, a Senior Superintendent of Police and spokesperson at the Bagmati Province Police Office told PTI.
The four bodies were found lying near the Trishuli River soon after the flood.
The flash flood struck the main market area of Rasuwa, including Syaphrubesi, at around 9 am local time, inundating residential and commercial areas and causing extensive damage.
Rasuwa Chief District Officer Narendra Pariyar said the flood occurred suddenly despite there being no rainfall in the area. Officials are yet to determine the exact cause of the sudden surge.
According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Wednesday’s flooding was not caused by rainfall in Rasuwa. Dinkar Kayastha, information officer at the department, said the flooding could have been caused by the formation of a new glacier or the bursting of an old one.
“We are still studying the matter, so the real cause is not yet known,” Kayastha said, adding that the risk of flooding from the Tibetan side had not yet disappeared and people needed to remain cautious.
Investigations are underway to determine whether the sudden surge was triggered by a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) or another factor, The Himalayan Times reported.
Rasuwa Assistant Chief District Officer Dhruva Prasad Adhikari said the scale of the flooding was unusually large and that two settlements had suffered significant damage.
Rasuwa Chief Customs Officer Rajendra Dhungana said numerous vehicles and goods kept at the customs premises were swept away. A recently constructed bridge was also destroyed.
The area is an important trade route connecting Nepal with Tibet and China.
The flash flood damaged eight operational hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 354 MW and five projects under construction in Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts, according to the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal (IPPAN).
The major operational hydropower projects damaged include the 111 MW Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project, 78 MW Sanjen Khola Hydropower Project and 60 MW Upper Trishuli 3A.
The Kathmandu Post quoted Chameli Gurung, deputy chair of Uttargaya Rural Municipality, as saying around a dozen settlements, including Syaphrubesi, Betrawati, Mailung, Salletar, Shantibazar, Pairebesi, Khalti Basti, Sole, Trishuli and Battar, had been affected.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRM) has urged people living along riverbanks in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitawan and Gorkha to remain on high alert and take necessary safety measures until further notice.
Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police personnel have been mobilised in the affected areas for rescue and relief operations following an emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Balendra Shah.
Four Armed Police Force personnel have gone missing from Rasuwa following the flash flood, said Netra Bahadur Karki, spokesperson for the Armed Police Force.
The Nepal Army has mobilised 12 helicopters to conduct search and rescue operations. According to an Army statement, six people were rescued from Syaphrubesi, two from Mailung and four from Dhunche, all in Rasuwa district.
The Army has also established a treatment centre at Military Training
Centre No. 1 in Trishuli, where its medical personnel are providing emergency treatment to affected people. An MI17 Army helicopter equipped with an Emergency Medical Rescue Team was also mobilised towards the district hospital in Trishuli.
A local media report quoted Nepal Police spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle as saying that the Area Police Office in Timure, the police post in Syaphrubesi and the police post at Rasuwagadhi were also damaged.
A team of 16 health personnel, including five doctors, has been dispatched to Rasuwa to provide medical treatment to those injured.
The flood also swept away a bridge in Gajuri of Dhading district. Five drones have been mobilised to assist rescue and relief operations, while three sniffer dogs have been sent to the affected areas to help locate missing people.
The disaster has also affected areas on the Chinese side of the Nepal-China border in Tibet. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that a mudslide from the Nepal side caused “major casualties” and left people missing at Gyirong Port.
Chinese President Xi Jinping directed authorities to carry out all-out rescue operations, search for missing people and provide treatment to those injured.
CCTV footage showed fast-flowing water carrying tree branches and debris and inundating roads, though the footage could not be independently verified.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua had reported that 17 people went missing following a mudslide near Gyirong Port in July.
The Bhotekoshi region was also hit by two catastrophic floods last year, which killed at least 10 people.
(With inputs from AFP, ANI and PTI)