Rescue works hampered due to disruption of road
Kathmandu - A person has gone missing while eight houses have been damaged by flood and landslide triggered by incessant rainfall this morning at Larcha of Bhotekoshi rural municipality-2. One person has been missing and three houses have been swept away by the flood and landslide in the Bhairavkunda rivulet while five houses at Tatopani Bazaar have been buried by landslide, rural municipality's vice-chair Dabuti Sherpa said.
The rescue works have been hampered after the roadway has become obstructed due to mudslide and erosion by river at various places along the Bahrabise-Tatopani road section. Power supply in all areas of the rural municipality has been knocked out as the electricity poles have fallen and communication has been disrupted due to the adverse weather, she added.
The flood in the Thadokhola rivulet has swept away the culvert at a place called Dashkilo. A container was swept away by the flooded rivulet and has been lodged precariously on the edge of the road close to the Bhotekoshi river, the rural municipality ward chair Deependra Shrestha said. The border police post is also at high risk as local Chaukidanda area is on the verge of caving in following incessant rainfall.
Arrangements have been made to evacuate 30 families in the area and shift them to a safe place above Kodari, the rural municipality chairman Raj Kumar Poudel said. He said the rural municipality has managed food for these families. Meanwhile, the risk of flooding has increased at the old market area in Bahrabise with the water level in the Bhotekoshi river rising continuously. The local administration has cautioned the locals of the possibility of flood and urged them to evacuate.
Accordingly, the locals in the old market area of Bahrabise have started moving out their belongings from their houses to safer places. Chief District Officer Umesh Kumar Dhakal said that the local administration has urged the people in risky areas to evacuate to safer locations. People residing in the western belt of Lamosanghu Bazaar have left their homes as the Sunkoshi river has started eroding the area from the lower part of the settlement.
Locals living in the western side of the Larchakhola have moved to higher locations on the hillside. They have also called on the authorities for rescuing them citing the place they are living is not safe. The locals of Larcha Bazaar have evacuated to the dry port. CDO Dhakal said the Nepal Army and the police has been informed about the risk and to prepare for rescue.
The Indrawati and Melamchi rivers in the district have burst their banks due to the continuous rain. The District Administration Office has urged the people living in settlements near the rivers to take precaution after the water level in the rivers started rising. Twenty people who went missing in the flood and landslide incident at Bahrabise on Wednesday night are still unaccounted for. Police said search is on for the missing people.
