New flash flood forces villages in Nepal to evacuate
Residents along the Budhi Gandaki river were sent to higher ground after houses and bridges were swept away.
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A new flash flood hit villages along the Budhi Gandaki river in Nepal on Sunday. The authorities urged residents to evacuate and stay away from riverbanks for the time being; no fatalities had been reported by Sunday morning.
The flooding began in the morning in the mountainous Gorkha district in central Nepal. Nepal's government flood forecasting service warned residents and travellers along the river to move to higher ground. The warning also applied to the area where the Budhi Gandaki flows into the Trishuli.
According to the service, a large amount of muddy water flowed downstream. Nepalese Interior Minister Sudan Gurung urged residents of several villages to seek safety immediately. Police, armed police and local officials were deployed for evacuations and relief efforts.
The extent of the damage is still being assessed. Nepalese media report that dozens of houses and several bridges have been damaged or swept away. The Himalayan Times reported 35 houses and three bridges, while Associated Press said the number of affected villages was still unclear. Those figures may therefore change.
The Nepalese army also sent reconnaissance teams and a helicopter to the area. The teams are to map the damage and help with rescue and evacuation operations. According to Nepalese warnings, the river remained above the danger level, prompting the authorities to urge residents not to return until the water had receded.
Nepal is still recovering from the much heavier flooding at the end of August. According to Associated Press, at least 1,455 people were killed and thousands are still missing. The government has estimated the reconstruction costs of that disaster at $4.77 billion; roads and bridges in remote areas have not yet been restored everywhere.
The new surge makes clear how vulnerable mountainous river areas remain while recovery work continues. On the basis of the initial reports, it has not yet been established whether the new flooding is linked to the earlier disaster or to a specific weather development.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article's core claims were confirmed by a Nepalese government warning, Associated Press and local reporting. Damage figures are presented as preliminary local reports and not as definitive final figures.
- confirmed Residents along the Budhi Gandaki river were sent to higher ground on Sunday. — Confirmed by Radio Nepal and Associated Press. source
- confirmed There had been no reports of fatalities by Sunday morning. — Associated Press reported that no casualties had been reported at that time. source
- confirmed Police, armed police and local officials were deployed. — Reported by OnlineKhabar, citing the Interior Minister. source
- confirmed Local media reported damage to 35 houses and three bridges. — The Himalayan Times gives these preliminary figures; the article explicitly attributes them to that source. source
- confirmed Nepal is still recovering from an earlier disaster in which at least 1,455 people were killed. — Associated Press reported these figures for the August floods. source
Editor's note
The new flooding and evacuation call were confirmed by the Nepalese government warning and multiple public media outlets. The exact number of damaged houses and bridges and the eventual consequences remain uncertain.Sources
- Villages evacuated as flash flood from Budhi Gandaki river hits northern Nepal — Associated Press
- People advised to move to higher ground as large muddy flood hits Budhi Gandaki River — Radio Nepal
- Home Minister urges residents along Budhi Gandaki to move to safety — OnlineKhabar
- Budhi Gandaki flood risk remains high as bridges, homes swept away — The Himalayan Times
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „nepal overstroming”
- NOS — „nepal overstroming”
- Het Parool — „nepal overstroming”