KATHMANDU, Oct 11: Flooding in a Himalayan river in Gorkha’s Chumnubri Rural Municipality has increased the risk to downstream communities.
Security personnel have been deployed to protect residents, according to Dr Dharma Raj Uprety, chief executive of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
Uprety said the river originates in the Himalayan region, and officials were gathering further information about the flood’s cause and damage.
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With floodwaters expected to take about two hours to travel from the upper reaches to downstream areas, efforts were underway to move residents at risk to safety.
“We are evacuating market areas. An army helicopter has already left, police have been deployed, and SMS alerts have been sent,” Uprety told Nagarik News. “We are trying to protect downstream communities.”
He said the flooding, which began in Sarti Khola, could affect Sirdibas, Jagat, Yaru, Tatopani, Machhakhola, Soti, Arukhet and Arughat. As the Budhigandaki later joins the Trishuli River, communities further downstream also need to remain alert.
Although officials had received reports of damage upstream, Uprety said damage in Salleri Bazaar and other locations had yet to be confirmed. Authorities were collecting details to establish the extent of the losses.
The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology’s Flood Forecasting Division has also sent SMS alerts to riverside residents.
According to the division’s flood expert Binod Parajuli, floodwaters are estimated to take about three hours to reach Arughat. He said the alerts urged communities along the river as far as Arughat to remain vigilant.
