Flash flood sweeps away homes and bridges in Nepal’s Gorkha district

A flash flood along the Budhi Gandaki River swept away houses and bridges in Nepal’s Gorkha district early Sunday, forcing residents and tourists to flee to higher ground.

Five people were missing, while the Nepal Army said 49 people had been rescued from affected areas, according to the BBC. The Kathmandu Post reported that six people were evacuated by air. Authorities deployed helicopters for rescues, relief distribution and evacuations, while Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and local officials joined the response.

The BBC reported that four bridges, nearly two dozen houses and a camp at a hydropower project were swept away. The Kathmandu Post said homes in Salleri, Paiyuka and Jagat were affected, along with bridges connecting communities in Chumnubri Rural Municipality. Floodwater also inundated a hydropower project site in Salleri and rose to the edge of the settlement at Jagat.

Residents said they heard loud roaring from waterways beginning around 4 a.m. and fled in darkness, in some cases leaving without their belongings. Authorities used loudspeakers to warn people in riverside settlements to move to safer locations as the river continued to fluctuate.

The cause of the sudden surge was not confirmed. District officials received preliminary reports of a landslide upstream, while residents suspected that a tributary had become blocked and repeatedly released water into the Budhi Gandaki.