Residents living along the Budhi Gandaki river in north-central Nepal were forced to evacuate their homes on Sunday as flash flooding caused significant damage to local structures. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority coordinated the evacuations and issued warnings for others to relocate to safer areas, maintaining a state of alert until late Sunday. There were no immediate reports of casualties following the event.
The disaster management agency is currently working to identify the cause of the flash flood in the Budhi Gandaki, a critical waterway near the capital, Kathmandu, that eventually merges into the Trishuli river. Social media footage of the incident shows the swollen river, flowing through mountainous terrain, sweeping away houses and sheds. While the full extent of the impact on small villages in the region remains unclear, government warnings triggered evacuations in Arughat, a riverside town located on the highway that connects Kathmandu to other parts of the country.
This event occurs as Nepal continues to deal with the aftermath of a devastating flood that struck the mountainous border between Nepal and China in August. That disaster resulted in more than 1,400 deaths and left thousands of people missing. On Monday, the office of Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah announced the conclusion of search and rescue operations for victims of that earlier catastrophe. Authorities are now shifting their focus to recovery, specifically the restoration of roads and bridges that were cut off by the floods, particularly in remote areas where damaged infrastructure has complicated aid delivery.
The government estimates that the total rebuilding effort will cost $4.77 billion. To date, nearly 33,000 people have been affected by the flooding, with approximately 7,500 homes reported as either damaged or destroyed.
