Government Building Crumbles into Daram River as Nepal Grapples with Flood Crisis
A two‑storey government office in Nepal’s Baglung district teetered on a precarious ledge as flood waters surged, before it fell with a cracking thud into the narrow Daram River on Sunday, September 27. The collapse, captured on witnesses’ phones, showed the structure tumbling in a swirly current and disappearing in seconds.
In the aftermath, local ward chair Tej Thapa confirmed that authorities had already evacuated essential records and computer equipment. At the same time, rescue teams reported that no one was injured, a fortuitous outcome given the building’s size and the rapidity of the fall.
This incident follows a harrowing sequence of floods and landslides that have claimed at least 27 lives in the past days, according to Nepal’s National Disaster Management Authority. It comes only weeks after a catastrophic flash flood along the Nepal‑Tibet border killed 1,400 people and left thousands unaccounted for.
Hydrologists point to the changing patterns of rainfall and glacier melt in the Himalayas as contributing factors. With many rural catchments increasingly vulnerable, civil‑engineering projects such as reinforced levees and early‑warning systems have become urgent priorities for the government.
Meanwhile, international aid agencies are working with local communities to conduct damage assessments, rebuild critical infrastructure, and provide temporary shelters. The incident has reignited calls for a comprehensive review of building codes in flood‑prone areas across Nepal.
