At least five people have been reported missing after powerful flash floods swept away homes and bridges in northern Nepal on Sunday, according to local disaster authorities. This comes just over a month after a catastrophic flood and landslide killed more than 1,400 people across the South Asian country.
The flooding may have been triggered by a landslide on Saturday that blocked a river tributary before accumulated water burst through, creating a flash flood, according to an official from Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology cited by the Kathmandu Post.
Floodwaters swept away an estimated 35-40 houses in northern Gorkha District, the newspaper reported, citing local authorities. Several bridges were also reportedly destroyed, while roads and hydropower facilities were damaged.
Videos circulating on social media purported to show floodwaters sweeping away buildings in a mountain valley.
Other footage appeared to show the Soti Khola Bridge in Gorkha District being destroyed.
Two women and three men have been reported missing, according to preliminary data from Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).
Authorities deployed helicopters and hundreds of security personnel for search and rescue operations, state broadcaster Radio Nepal reported. At least 82 people, including nine foreigners, have been rescued, AFP reported, citing the NDRRMA.
The latest flooding comes just over a month after a catastrophic disaster struck Nepal and parts of China’s Tibet on August 26. As of late September, at least 1,451 bodies had been recovered and 5,745 people remained missing, according to NDRRMA data.
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