Nepal landslide blocks river, raises fears of flash flood

Kathmandu, May 24 

A massive landslide in western Nepal has blocked a major river that also flows through parts of India, forcing thousands of people to flee to safety and triggering fears of a devastating flash flood, officials said today.

The Kali Gandaki River in Myagdi district, about 140 km north-west of the capital, Kathmandu, has created a deep and growing new lake after the landslide overnight.

The Nepal Police in their twitter account said the water level in the artificial dam, created after the blockage of the river, has risen by 150 metres.

There are no reports of casualties. Authorities have deployed army in the area. The Ministry of Science and Technology has declared ‘high alert’ in the settlements along the banks of river owing to continuous landslides.

“A landslide based dam has been formed at Kaligandaki river approximately 10 km upstream of Beni Bazar. Residents living downstream in Galeshwor Bazaar and Beni Bazaar need to be in high alert,” a warning in the Ministry’s website said.

“Parts of Syangja, Parbat, Myagdi, Baglung, Gulmi, Palpa and Nawalparasi districts in the downstream of this river also need to stay high alert.”

Flood forecasting division of Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has appealed to the residents of settlements in the seven districts below the landslide location to stay alert.

Normally landslide is triggered by rain but in this case, the cracks triggered by earthquake led the debris to fall, according to experts. Rocks, boulders and mud are falling making huge sound, ekantipur.com reported.

The landslide also buried 25 houses in Baisari.

Nawa Raj Sharma, CPM-UML lawmaker from Myagdi, said that the continuous falling of debris is making it difficult for the rescue team to siphon off the water from the artificial lake. — PTI