Kathmandu, Oct 11: Authorities began evacuating riverside settlements in Gorkha on Sunday after flooding in the upper Budhigandaki raised fears for communities downstream, including those along the Trishuli River.
Police were deployed, an army helicopter was dispatched, and residents received SMS warnings as officials worked to move people out of exposed market areas, said Dr Dharma Raj Uprety, chief executive of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
The flooding began in Sarti Khola in Chumnubri Rural Municipality. Officials identified Sirdibas, Jagat, Yaru, Tatopani, Machhakhola, Soti, Arukhet and Arughat as areas that could be affected.
Uprety urged communities further downstream to remain alert because the Budhigandaki flows into the Trishuli. Authorities were still investigating what triggered the flood in the Himalayan region and assessing its impact.
“We are evacuating market areas. An army helicopter has already left, police have been deployed, and SMS alerts have been sent,” he told Nagarik News.
Uprety said floodwaters could take about two hours to travel from the upper reaches to downstream areas. Separately, Binod Parajuli, a flood expert at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology’s Flood Forecasting Division, estimated that the surge would take around three hours to reach Arughat.
The division sent SMS alerts urging residents along the river as far as Arughat to stay vigilant.
Reports of damage had emerged from upstream settlements, but Uprety said losses in Salleri Bazaar and other locations remained unconfirmed. Officials were gathering information to establish the extent of the damage.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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