Flash flood sweeps away more than 35 houses and several bridges in Nepal’s Gorkha district

A flash flood in the Budhi Gandaki River swept away more than 35 houses and several bridges in Nepal’s Gorkha district early on Sunday. The surge hit settlements in Chumnubri Rural Municipality, including Salleri, Paiyuka and the riverbed area at Jagat, and extended into Dharche. Ward chair Ram Kumar Gurung told the Kathmandu Post that a suspension bridge connecting a ward was among the structures lost. Assistant Chief District Officer Netra Prasad Sharma said motorable bridges at Arughat, Tripurasundari and Soti-Manbu were destroyed, along with a Bailey bridge and several footbridges.

At least 10 people were reported missing in the northern part of the district. Six people were later evacuated to safer ground. Chief District Officer Dharmendra Kumar Mishra said preliminary reports pointed to a landslide above Siuribas. Residents and local officials suspect a tributary stream may have been blocked by a landslide and then released, producing the sudden surge. Rainfall in the preceding 24 hours was only sporadic, so the flood does not appear to have been caused by ordinary monsoon rain.

Water levels at the Budhigandaki-Arughat monitoring centre rose sharply. One reading showed the level climbing from 2.28 metres to 3.66 metres and later exceeding the danger mark. Videos circulating locally showed the river carrying thick mud and debris. The flood also damaged a construction camp and equipment at the 341-megawatt Budhi Gandaki hydropower project site.

Prime Minister Balen Shah said a Nepal Army contingent had been deployed by air and land. Helicopters were sent for search, rescue and evacuation. A joint rapid-response team from Kathmandu was airlifted to the area. Home Minister Sudan Gurung noted that the bridge linking Nyakchet and Philim bazaar in Chumnubri-3 had also been swept away. Authorities used SMS alerts to tell residents in riverside settlements to move to higher ground.

The district is still recovering from earlier disasters. Floods and landslides in the Rasuwa and Trishuli areas in August killed more than 1,400 people and left thousands missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. The new surge in the Budhi Gandaki, a tributary of the Trishuli, has again isolated remote Himalayan communities that rely on suspension bridges and narrow roads.

No confirmed deaths had been reported in the first hours, but the missing-persons count and the continuing rise and fall of the river mean the final toll is not yet known. Search teams continue to check riverbanks and debris fields. The loss of bridges cuts off access to villages that already have limited road connections. Rebuilding the hydropower site and the destroyed crossings will take months.

Gorkha lies roughly 180 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu. The affected rural municipalities sit in steep terrain where landslides frequently block streams. The combination of a possible temporary dam and its sudden breach is a recognised hazard in the Nepal Himalaya, especially after heavy rain or seismic activity loosens slopes. Officials have not yet confirmed the exact trigger with satellite imagery, but the pattern matches previous events of this type.