The members of the House of Representatives (HoR) have expressed grief over the loss of lives and property from the devastating flood along the Nepal-China border in Rasuwa on Tuesday night. They urged the government to pursue diplomatic measures to address the growing risk of such disasters arising from transboundary situations.
Several lawmakers expressed concerns about the risk of glacier outbursts in various parts of China and urged the government to establish an information-sharing system and diplomatic cooperation. Lawmakers Rajendra Bajgain, Madhav Prasad Sapkota, and Sher Bahadur Kunwar were among those who raised an alarm by the damage caused by the Lende river, which merges with the Bhotekoshi river, along the Nepal-China border in Rasuwagadhi. They also called on the government to intensify search and rescue efforts for the missing persons.
At least 19 people, including two police personnel and six Chinese and 11 Nepali, remain missing. Nine bodies were recovered as of Wednesday.
According to China’s state news agency, Xinhua, more than 300 people, including many Nepalis, were safely relocated after flash floods swept through Gyirong County on Tuesday.
The flash floods struck the Gyirong Port area along the China-Nepal border, leaving 11 people missing on the Chinese side.
Landslides and floods have disrupted key transport routes, including the Syafrubeshi-Timure road and Birgunj-Galchhi-Dewighat-Trishuli-Rasuwagadhi road. Work is underway to remove the landslide debris. Similarly, the Dhunche-Syafrubeshi road section has also been blocked after a landslide at Thulo Bharkhu.
Tuesday night’s flood and landslide have also blocked the Syafrubesi-Rasuwagadhi road section at various places, according to the District Administration Office, Rasuwa.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, 57 people trapped in the flood and landslide have been rescued—30 of them by helicopter, according to the Nepali Army.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inspected the flood and landslide-affected area on Tuesday, and directed the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority to expedite the search and rescue work.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to coordinate with China through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reopen the Kerung border crossing by rebuilding the damaged bridge and the road. The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport will also work to open alternative border crossings with China. The Ministry of Home Affairs will lead the relief program for the affected families, while the Ministry of Health and Population will provide free treatment to the injured.
Prime Minister Oli has informed that he has requested the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal to immediately construct a bailey bridge on the washed away Friendship Bridge. He stressed the need for a systematic operation of alternative routes including the Korala border crossing in Mustang to link Nepal and China.
The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) reported that the flood entered the substation at the Trishuli-3B, taking 250 MW of electricity off the national grid.
In a separate incident, a flood in Upper Mustang on Tuesday evening destroyed six bridges, according to the District Police Office, Mustang. The Chumjung River in Chhoser, Lomanthang Rural Municipality-4, a village on the northern border of Nepal and China, experienced a heavy flood for about three hours.
As local residents were given prior warning about the possible danger, there were no human casualties. The flooding in the area has subsided for now, but the local authorities have requested the locals to take necessary precautions
It has been suspected that the Rasuwa landslide and flood may have been caused due to the burst of a glacial lake in the Tibetan region. Climate expert Ujjwal Upadhyaya in his social media said, “Looking at the weather activity satellite images of the past 12 hours, it does not appear that there has been such heavy rainfall in the Kerung watershed area in Tibet. Therefore, there could be three other reasons besides the rain—glacial lake eruption, avalanche or massive landslide that formed a natural dam and stopped the flow of the river for a while and then the dam burst and took the form of a massive flood.”
However, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said no conclusive evidence has been found so far.
“Satellite images taken before the flood show a rise in glacial lakes, but cloud cover is obstructing confirmation of a lake breach or sudden volume change,” ICIMOD said in a statement.
“Preliminary reports and social media visuals indicate the floodwaters originated from Lende river, which flows into Nepal from the east of the Bhotekoshi in Kerung, Rasuwa. However, Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM)’s water level data shows no signs of river damming or breach, such as sudden spikes in upstream levels—suggesting that temporary blockage is unlikely.”
Qianggong Zhang, head of Climate and Environmental Risk at ICIMOD, said it’s hard to understand the exact reason behind the hazards, and the scenarios need to be accounted for while planning for response, relief and reconstruction measures in mountain settings.
Pema Gyamtsho, director general at ICIMOD, emphasized that disaster preparedness and management in our region needs major and urgent investment—of funds, talent, and tools. He reaffirmed that ICIMOD will continue to work closely with disaster risk reduction experts and agencies to accelerate the scaling up of the best approaches to monitoring, forecasting, and early-warning systems that this region so urgently needs.
