Nepali authorities have called on residents to leave vulnerable areas after flooding along a river in central Nepal destroyed homes and key infrastructure, although no deaths had been reported.
Five people — two women and three men — remained out of contact, according to the national disaster authority. The army said 49 others, including one foreign national whose country was not identified, had been rescued.
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Officials said a landslide in Chumnubri village, in Gorkha district about 100 kilometres west of Kathmandu, blocked the Budhi Gandaki River and triggered flooding downstream.
The Budhi Gandaki feeds into the Trishuli River, below another tributary where a glacier collapse caused a catastrophic flood in August that killed 1,457 people and left thousands still missing.
The flooding carried away roughly a dozen houses and two suspension bridges, while also damaging a camp serving a hydroelectric project and sweeping away some of its construction equipment, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said.
Dharam Raj Uprety, the Authority’s chief, said the river was rising as it carried muddy sludge and had destroyed a highway bridge linking Gorkha with neighbouring Dhading district.
National disaster officials issued warnings to communities along the river in Gorkha, Tanahun, Chitwan, East Nawalparasi and West Nawalparasi districts about the flood.
“Please help ensure that people in at-risk areas are moved to safe locations in time and assist search and rescue operations as needed,” the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said in a social media post.
Army and police rescue teams had reached the affected area, officials said, while helicopters were being used to monitor conditions.
