Flash flood from landslide-blocked Budhi Gandaki river forces evacuations in northern Nepal

A landslide blocks the river

On Sunday, a dry landslide in Chumnubri village in Gorkha district, about 100 km west of Kathmandu, blocked the Budhi Gandaki River, according to Nepali authorities, and the flooding downstream followed. Residents reported loud roaring sounds from nearby streams from about 4am, and officials said the river's flow continued to fluctuate. The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said a landslide blocked a tributary before suddenly releasing the water downstream, while authorities had identified a large landslide near Chumchet village in satellite images but had not yet confirmed the precise cause. Local media reported that the landslide formed an earthen dam that later gave way. The Budhi Gandaki flows into the Trishuli River, a key waterway near Kathmandu.

Homes, bridges and missing people

Gorkha's most senior district official, Dharmendra Kumar Mishra, said several houses and two suspension bridges had been swept away and that a hydroelectric project had been damaged. Police confirmed that two suspension footbridges and one steel bridge had been destroyed, according to The Independent. Reported counts of washed-away houses differ: The Himalayan Times said 35 houses were washed away, while local media estimated about ten. A camp for workers and construction equipment at the hydropower project was damaged, and at least 18 workers in the camp escaped to safety. The Kathmandu Post reported that four people missing had lived in a shed on the banks of the Ungilung River, a tributary of the Budhi Gandaki, and that the shed was one of four livestock shelters swept away along with 15 yaks. Local media said no casualties were known so far, and the full extent of the damage remains unclear as assessments continue.

Evacuations and rescue operations

Authorities urged people to move away from riverbanks, and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority issued alerts to residents along the river in Gorkha, Tanahun, Chitwan, East Nawalparasi and West Nawalparasi districts. The Flood Forecasting Division warned that flood risk remained high along the Trishuli corridor toward Mugling and further downstream into Chitwan and Nawalparasi. Social media posts indicated that a government warning prompted an evacuation in Arughat, a riverside town on the highway connecting Kathmandu with other parts of the country. Mishra told Reuters:

We have asked villagers living along the river banks downstream to evacuate and remain safe.

The disaster authority also appealed in a social media post for help in moving people from at-risk areas. Prime Minister Balendra Shah said in a post on X that a contingent of the Nepali army had been deployed by air and land for search and rescue, and that six people had been airlifted from the Jagat area, which is at risk of landslides. Army and police rescue personnel had reached the area and were monitoring the situation from a helicopter.

Context from the August flood

Nepal is still recovering from a flood in August along the mountainous Nepal-China border, which Reuters linked to a glacier collapse. Reuters reported that the August flood killed 1,457 people with thousands still missing, while AP said more than 1,400 people died. Local media reported 1,454 deaths, 9,200 injured and 5,285 people still missing, and said the floods destroyed more than 7,500 homes in districts including Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan.