ع
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported that a dry landslide in Chumnubri village blocked the Budhi Gandaki River early Sunday before the buildup of water and debris caused a sudden breach. Water levels rose from 3.66 metres at 6:30 a.m. to 8.43 metres by 8:40 a.m., surpassing the danger mark of five metres in a surge that took less than 10 minutes at one point, according to the agency’s assessment. The authority issued alerts to communities downstream in several districts including Tanahun, Chitwan and Nawalparasi while the Nepal Army deployed teams for aerial reconnaissance and ground operations.
According to local officials the flood swept away more than 30 houses in areas such as Salleri Bazaar, Jagat Bazaar, Painyu and Bagar within Chumnubri Rural Municipality along with six bridges that included both motorable crossings and suspension structures at sites like Arughat, Tripurasundari and Soti-Manbu. A hydropower project in the district sustained damage with some construction equipment and camp facilities carried away by the torrent. Videos from the scene showed the river turning dark with mud and debris as it tore through mountain valleys, the Times of India reported after reviewing footage shared on social media.
The Nepal Army confirmed it airlifted at least 36 people to safer ground and rescued around 50 residents from riverbank zones in the Gorkha district while additional security forces continued search efforts on foot. Gorkha district’s senior bureaucrat Dharmendra Kumar Mishra stated that warnings had gone out to villagers living along the river banks to move to higher ground immediately. Prime Minister Balendra Shah noted in a social media post that six people facing landslide risks in Jagat were among those evacuated by air, according to accounts compiled by the Kathmandu Post.
No immediate deaths have been recorded from the flooding but five people remain missing all from the Gorkha area, the Armed Police Force spokesperson Netra Bahadur Karki told media outlets. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority emphasised that the event was not caused by rainfall but by the landslide blockage and subsequent breach. Rescue teams stayed on high alert as river levels continued to fluctuate in the hours after the initial surge.
This latest disaster strikes as Nepal works to recover from catastrophic floods two months earlier that followed a glacier collapse or ice shelf failure along a tributary of the Trishuli River. Government figures placed the death toll from the August event at more than 1,400 with thousands still listed as missing across multiple districts, a separate assessment by the National Reconstruction Authority found. The earlier floods wiped out thousands of homes, schools, health facilities and transport links with reconstruction costs estimated in the billions of dollars.
Authorities have urged continued vigilance in riverside settlements while damage assessments proceed in remote parts of Chumnubri and Dharche rural municipalities. The Budhi Gandaki River ultimately feeds into the Trishuli system where prior flooding had already strained infrastructure and community resilience. Emergency supplies are being readied for displaced families who fled without time to gather belongings ahead of the major Dashain festival.
