Kathmandu. So far, 47 people have been rescued safely from the flood-affected areas including the mudslides in the Budhigandaki River in Gorkha. The floods have caused major damage to bridges, houses and structures of hydropower projects in different places. Chief Executive Officer of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Dr. Dharmaraj Upreti informed about the situation till 1 pm on Sunday and said that no details of human damage have been received so far.
He said, “A big landslide occurred between Lokpa and Chumling of Chumnubri Rural Municipality-6 of Gorkha district on the morning of October 10, 2008 and a big flood with mud has occurred due to the closure of the Budhigandaki river flowing through the same place. No human casualties have been reported so far. Which is a good thing, although the physical damage has been very high. Four helicopters of the Nepal Army have been mobilized for search and rescue in the affected areas and 47 people have been rescued safely from the affected areas so far and kept in safe places. Upreti said that another disaster occurred in Budhigandaki at a time when the situation was expected to ease after the floods in Bhotekoshi and Trishuli areas. He said that although the floods have caused a lot of damage to the physical infrastructure, there is no report of human loss so far, which is a positive aspect.
According to the NRA, as soon as the flood was reported, priority was given to shift the residents of the affected areas to safer places. A 25-member police team was mobilized from the Area Police Office, Arughat, alerting the residents of the riverbank and shifting them to safer places.
Upreti said that 12 employees of the Times Energy Hydropower Project in Salleri have also been shifted to safer places. However, the physical infrastructure of the project has been damaged.
Four helicopters of the Nepal Army have been mobilized for search and rescue in the flood-affected areas. According to Upreti, a total of 387 security personnel, including 127 of the Nepal Army, 83 of the Nepal Police and 177 of the Armed Police Force (APF), have been mobilized. “So far, 387 personnel including 127 from the Nepal Army, 83 from the Nepal Police and 177 from the Armed Police Force (APF) have been mobilized in the search and rescue operation,” he said.
The Flood Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology and the Hydrology and Water Resources Research Centre had received the information at 6:00 am and the public from Gorkha, Dhading and up to Benighat of Chitwan were sent a prior information through SMS.
The authority has also disseminated information through SMS in Gorkha, Tanahun and Nawalparasi. After receiving the information, Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force were mobilized.
Likewise, SMS alert has been sent to 221 rescue workers of Gorkha, Dhading, Tanahun, Chitwan, Nawalparasi East and Nawalparasi West for immediate response. According to him, the meeting of the command post under the leadership of the executive chief has been going on continuously since around
6:30 am. Monitoring, mobilization of security agencies and search and rescue operations are underway in the affected areas.
Preliminary reports have been received that floods have damaged bridges and houses in various places of Gorkha.
The old suspension bridge connecting Nyakchet to Sirdibas in Chumnubri Rural Municipality-3 has been swept away. According to the NRA, one house has been swept away and another house has been flooded.
Similarly, the flood has also swept away the suspension bridge connecting Machhikhola to Karaunja at Dharche Rural Municipality-5. Upreti said that preliminary information has been received that the powerhouse of the under-construction Sahaj Urja Hydropower Project at Salleri, Dharche Rural Municipality-3 and seven to eight houses in the vicinity have been swept away.
A portion of the concrete bridge connecting Gorkha to Dhading from Arughat Rural Municipality-9 has been washed away by the floods. The bridge is said to be divided into three parts.
It has been reported that floods have entered the lower settlement of Machhi Khola in the same area and 20 to 22 houses are at risk.
The flood has also swept away the iron bridge linking Arughat rural municipality-2 and 3 at Soti.
The flood in the Budhi Gandaki River has also damaged hydropower projects of various capacities.
According to NEA, the water supply has washed away the main camp area of the 341 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project and some construction equipments.
Similarly, some houses in the camp area of the 24.5 MW Dovan Khola Hydropower Project were damaged and a bailey bridge was washed away. The bailey bridge of the 30.59 MW Yaru Khola Hydropower Project was damaged and construction materials and equipment were washed away.
According to the preliminary data, the 16 MW Machhakhola Hydropower Project has also suffered damages to the access road and bridges leading to the project site.
The impact of the floods has also been felt in Dhading district. According to the NRA, about 100 households in Bishalnagar of Tripurasundari Rural Municipality-1 of Dhading have been affected by the mudslide.
Similarly, information has been received that Narsingh Dham Temple and Gurukul School located on the riverbank of Tripurasundari Rural Municipality are at risk, Upreti said. A technical team from the NRA and the Department of Roads has been mobilized in the affected areas to find out the exact cause of the flood and whether a bailey bridge can be installed immediately after the bridge at Arughat was swept away. He said, “A technical team from the NEA and the Department of Roads has been mobilized with drones to the affected areas to understand the real cause of the flood and to conduct a feasibility study on whether a bailey bridge can be constructed immediately after the bridge at Arughat was swept away by the flood÷ The authority has urged the residents of the banks and lower banks of the Budhigandaki River to stay away from the river bank and risky settlements in safe places till Sunday evening.” People have been requested not to follow the directives of local administration and security bodies as the water level in the river seems to have receded. The NRA has said it has been continuing its search, rescue and response works in the flood-affected areas to collect details of the damage caused by the floods.
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