The flooding followed a landslide in Chumnubri village that blocked the Budhi Gandaki River on Saturday, authorities said. The river later burst through the blockage, sending floodwaters downstream and damaging a highway bridge linking Gorkha district with neighbouring Dhading.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority alerted communities along the river in Gorkha, Tanahun, Chitwan, East Nawalparasi and West Nawalparasi districts. Officials urged residents living along the riverbanks to move to safer areas.
The flood also damaged a hydroelectric project camp, sweeping away some construction equipment. Officials reported no deaths as of Sunday. The full extent of the damage remained unclear.
The latest flooding comes less than two months after catastrophic floods near Nepal’s border with Tibet killed more than 1,400 people, with thousands still missing.
The Budhi Gandaki flows into the Trishuli River, a tributary of which was affected by the August disaster. The two events differ in scale, however, with experts describing the latest debris flow as smaller and slower than the earlier floods.
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The cause of Sunday’s flooding has not been fully established. A landslide may have temporarily blocked the river before the accumulated water broke through, while some residents upstream reported seeing an ice avalanche.
