Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 26: At least 95 people were killed, nearly 100 injured while more than 400 persons are missing following a sudden and massive flood that swept through central Nepal on Wednesday causing widespread destruction in settlements along the river.
The flooding also damaged at least a dozen hydropower projects, officials said. The flood surged through the Bhote Koshi River at around 9 am local time, with the waters reportedly coming from the Tibet side. The disaster affected Rasuwa and Dhading districts, which border Tibet, as well as Nuwakot district in the southwest of Kathmandu.
Reports said at least 105 Indians and 37 non-resident Indians (NRIs), were among the nearly 400 pilgrims who have gone missing on their way to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet. The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) said 384 travellers — 291 foreign nationals and 93 Nepali citizens — have been reported missing following the floods in Rasuwa. Among the missing foreign travellers are 105 Indians while the remaining tourists are from countries including the US, Malaysia, the UK, South Africa, Australia and the Netherlands.
The official said at least 26 Nepal Police personnel are still missing in Rasuwa district. The Armed Police Force also said seven of its personnel were missing. The Nepal Army has deployed helicopters and disaster response personnel to the affected area. “The work of collecting details of the damage is underway,” it said in a statement.
Giving details of the casualties in the flash flood, the official sources said while two persons, including a woman, were killed and 43 injured in Rasuwa district, 11 casualties, including five women, were reported from Nuwakot where 47 people were also injured, 11 females and 5 males reported dead in Dhading, and 18 casualties including five women were reported from Chitwan district. Sources said 10 severed limbs (hands/legs) were recovered in the downtown of the flooded rivers.
The sudden rise in the river’s water level caused extensive damage in Timure in Rasuwa district and the nearby Syafrubesi area, with vehicles, goods and other property swept away, the Nepal Army said in a statement. Rasuwa district is located northeast of Kathmandu, around 125 km from the Tibet border.
The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) said at least six of its major hydropower and transmission facilities — Rasuwagadhi, Chilime, Trishuli 3A, Trishuli 3B Hub 220 kV Substation, Trishuli Hydropower Station, and Devighat Hydropower Station– have been damaged in the flood. “The disaster has damaged the production, transmission, and distribution facilities of the Authority… resulting in disruption of electricity supply,” it said.
Several highways in Nepal have also been closed, authorities said. Videos shared by Nepal Police and others on social media showed torrents of muddy water crashing through mountain valleys in the Himalayan nation’s districts bordering Tibet. “We do not exactly know the extent of damage, but the flood is big, and it could have damaged many settlements,” Nepal Police spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle said. “We have alerted people who are staying near the riverside to relocate… and deployed all our resources,” he said.
The Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah convened an emergency meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority to take stock of the situation. “Work has started to take necessary steps in coordination with the medical team, scouts, and Red Cross,” Shah said in a social media post. Monsoon rains from June to September regularly trigger deadly floods and landslides across South Asia. Scientists say climate change was increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the region.
The flood damaged roads, hydropower projects and other critical infrastructure, including telecommunications networks. More than 30 helicopters, operated by the Nepal Army and private operators, were deployed for search-and-rescue operations.
Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal told Parliament in the afternoon that dozens of security personnel and government officials could not be contacted. Twenty-six Nepal Police and Armed Police Force personnel in Rasuwa, along with 44 Nepal Army personnel stationed at Timure and Mailung, were among those reported out of contact. Some customs and immigration officials at Rasuwagadhi and civilians in the affected areas were also unaccounted for.
The Indian Air Force has kept its transport aircraft fleet, including the C-17, C-130J and C-295, on standby for relief operations in Nepal due to flash floods there. A C-130 J transport aircraft is expected to take off with relief material to Nepal by late evening, official sources in New Delhi said.
An initial study based on the analysis of satellite images by Planet Labs indicates that a glacier-inclusive flood occurred in the Lhende River due to a snow-rock landslide that took place on the Nepal-China border approximately 20 kilometres northeast of the Nepal-China Rasuwagadhi border crossing.
The Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed deep concern over the devastating flash floods in Nepal, amid reports of hundreds of people, including Indian pilgrims, going missing. In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi also urged the Government of India to make every possible effort, in close coordination with Nepalese authorities, to locate the missing Indian citizens and ensure their safe return. “Deeply concerned by the devastating flash floods in Nepal, where hundreds of people, including Indian pilgrims, have gone missing. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of those who have lost their lives. My thoughts are with the families anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones. I urge the Government of India to make every possible effort, in close coordination with the Nepalese authorities, to locate the missing Indian citizens and ensure their safe return. I stand in solidarity with the people of Nepal and everyone affected by this tragic disaster,” he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered all-out efforts to search for and rescue people missing after devastating flash floods swept through villages and towns near the China-Nepal border area in Tibet, causing heavy casualties. A total of 145 officers and soldiers from the Xigaze detachment of the People’s Armed Police have been sent to the affected border port to assist with emergency response operations.