A sudden flood in central Nepal destroyed about 40 homes and several bridges, leaving at least five missing persons, authorities reported this Sunday.
The incident occurred one month after the devastating floods in August, which left 1,450 dead and 5,200 missing in the country.
The Nepal Army reported the overflow at 5: 55 a.m. local time in Gorkha province, one of the areas most affected by the previous riades. A measuring station recorded a water level increase of 8.4 metres.
The current dragged houses in the towns of Jagat Bagar, Salleri and Ghattekhaha, according to Narayan Prasad Sapkota, administrative director of the rural municipality of Chumanubri.
Sapkota indicated that the situation was beginning to normalize and that emergency teams were focused on rescue work.
For his part, Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah reported that six people were rescued by helicopter and confirmed the deployment of several aircraft to locate the missing.
To date, the authorities had not reported any fatalities due to this new flood.
An avalanche of ice could cause the growth
Preliminary reports point to an avalanche of ice may have dragged snow, mud and other debris to the river, triggering the flood.
According to a statement from the Nepal Hydrology Research Centre, a detachment temporarily blocked a tributary in Tumje, within the municipality of Chumanubri. As that natural barrier broke, a lot of water and mud suddenly fell.
The hydrologist Binod Parajuli, of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, explained that the available records did not show rains in the headers of the affected river. The precipitations would not therefore explain the phenomenon.
Send alerts to evacuate risk areas
After detecting the flood, the authorities sent some 200,000 text messages to warn the population and to request the immediate evacuation of several districts exposed to further detachment.
A resident of the area reported to local media that he heard a rushing in the morning and left his home to go to higher grounds. Other inhabitants also sought refuge in high places, while some people were surprised by the emergency when they slept in their hotels.
The rescue teams continue to search for the five missing persons.
Sudden flooding in Nepal destroys 40 homes and leaves five missing
