KATHMANDU: Authorities in Nepal urged residents living along riverbanks to evacuate to safer locations on Sunday after a landslide blocked a river in the central part of the country, triggering flooding that swept away homes and damaged infrastructure.
Five people — two women and three men — remained unaccounted for, according to the national disaster authority. The army said 49 people, including one foreign national whose nationality was not disclosed, had been rescued. No casualties had been reported.
The landslide occurred in Chumnubri village in Gorkha district, around 100 kilometres west of Kathmandu, blocking the Budhi Gandaki River and causing flooding downstream.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said the flood swept away around a dozen houses and two suspension bridges and damaged a camp at a hydroelectric project. The rising, mud-laden water also destroyed a highway bridge connecting Gorkha with neighbouring Dhading district.
Authorities issued warnings to residents along the river in Gorkha, Tanahun, Chitwan, East Nawalparasi and West Nawalparasi districts, urging people in at-risk areas to move to safety and assist rescue efforts where possible.
Army and police rescue teams reached the affected area, while officials monitored the situation from a helicopter.
The Budhi Gandaki is a tributary of the Trishuli River, which flows downstream from an area affected by a glacier-collapse flood in August that killed 1,457 people, with thousands more still missing, according to the report.