Kathmandu

Nepalese authorities on Monday are searching for five missing people as 13 more individuals have been rescued from flood-affected areas of Gorkha District after a deluge swept away homes and bridges, authorities said.

A total of 95 people have been rescued by the Nepali Army from the areas in Chumnubri Rural Municipality as search and rescue operations continued. the army said. Three people trapped at Dhaulibhir near Ungilung river in Chumnubri Rural Municipality-6, Gorkha, were rescued by a Nepali Army helicopter on Sunday evening.

They had been stranded at Dhaulibhir, near the site of a landslide in Ungilung earlier on Sunday, said Narayan Sapkota, chief administrative officer of Chumnubri Rural Municipality.

“They had a cattle shed there and became trapped after a landslide suddenly struck on Sunday morning,” Sapkota said. “They were airlifted to Philim.”

By Sunday evening, 95 people had been rescued using four helicopters, including an MI-17, and ground-based rescue teams. Of those rescued, 17 were from Jagat, 22 from Yaru, 13 from Thulodhunga, three from Dobhan, two from Philim, 17 from Nyakphedi, 12 from Payu, three from Namrung, three from Deng and three from Dhauli, the Rising Nepal daily reported.

The flooding in the Budhi Gandaki River on Sunday comes less than two months after the August 26 Bhotekoshi disaster, when a sudden surge of water and debris swept through settlements in Rasuwa and Sindhupalchok, killing hundreds and leaving thousands missing.

The back-to-back disasters have heightened concerns over the vulnerability of communities living along Himalayan river corridors, where landslides can block streams and create temporary barriers that release destructive surges when they collapse. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said five people, including two women, remain missing.

The floods and landslides have damaged two suspension bridges, two motorable bridges, three hydropower projects and 34 cow sheds, the NDRRMA said, adding that 45 houses were completely damaged while 27 houses suffered partial damage. Three vehicles were swept away, it said.

The authorities have mobilised over 700 security personnel, including 171 Nepal Army soldiers. They have delivered tents, blankets, mattresses, sleeping bags and kitchen sets to the affected areas.

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Nepal is prone to floods and avalanches due to the unpredictable environment of the Himalayas, the world's tallest mountain range.