In brief
A violent surge on the Budhi Gandaki River swept through Nepal’s Gorkha district on Sunday, destroying dozens of homes, bridges and a hydropower project. The army rescued 95 people, including nine foreigners, while five remain missing and no casualties have been recorded. Experts suspect a landslip or ice avalanche may have triggered the flood, and climate‑driven glacier melt is said to heighten future risks. The government has deployed helicopters and international aid agencies like Save The Children are rushing emergency teams to support the impacted communities.
A sudden surge on the Budhi Gandaki River beat the mountain hamlet of Gorkha hard Sunday morning, wiping out dozens of homes and two suspension bridges and damaging a hydropower construction site.
The army said 95 people, nine of them foreigners, were rescued from the flooded banks, but five remain missing. No fatalities have been confirmed so far.
Vidhu, a resident of Jagatbagar, told reporters he and others had fled to a nearby forest after an early warning call, describing the water’s rapid rise from two metres to almost nine metres in a few minutes.
Official statements attribute the flood to either a landslide that may have blocked the river some time before, or an ice avalanche noticed by locals upstream, though experts say data from the hydrological station was lost during the event.
The disaster struck as Nepalis were preparing to celebrate Dashain, the largest festival of the year, adding to the emotional toll on already‑disrupted communities that suffered heavy losses during August’s catastrophic floods.
The government has mobilised four helicopters for search and rescue, announced the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, and deployed emergency teams from international NGOs like Save The Children who warn that climate‑driven glacier melt is heightening risk along the Himalayas.
