7, 000 people likely to be affected by landslides and floods in Tanahun
As many as 7,000 people will likely be affected due to the landslides and floods this year in Tanahun district, according to the Emergency Response Plan, 2024 prepared by the District Administration Office, Tanahun.
It is estimated that 70,000 people of 15,969 households in the entire Gandaki Province will be affected due to monsoon-induced disasters this year. The Plan has listed landslide as the number one risk this year in Tanahun, said Janardhan Gautam, the Chief District Officer and Chair of the District Disaster Management Committee.
"The estimates have been made on the basis of the scientific analysis of data. The risk of landslides is much higher in Tanahun district compared to other disasters," CDO Gautam added. Based on the data from 2010 to 2020 made available by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the vulnerable population to monsoon-induced disasters in 2081 BS is around one million and 250 thousand.
According to the Chief District Officer, the District Disaster Management Committee is prepared for responding to the disasters.
Four urban municipalities and six rural municipalities in the district are at high risk of landslides. The Plan identifies high risk of flooding, fires, epidemics, drought, road accident, lightning and storm in the district after the landslide.
It is stated that 48 of the total 85 wards of 10 local levels in the district are at high risk of landslide.
Floods, landslides displace 81 families in Taplejung
Three hundred and forty-two people from 81 families have been displaced due to floods and landslides since the start of the monsoon precipitation in Taplejung.
Chief District Officer Rabindra Prasad Acharya said that five people lost their lives to landslide incidents in a period of a week. According to him, eight houses have been completely damaged while 18 more are at high risk due to landslides.
CDO Acharya added that 55 houses are at risk of landslides in various places in the district. "Eighty-four cattle have been killed due to the flood and landslide. Four vehicles have been damaged while the four bridges, including two motorable wooden bridges, have been washed away by the flood," he said.
Stating that 70 displaced families have been sheltering at the homes of their relatives and neighbours, he said 11 families are taking shelter at a nearby school.
The highest numbers of displaced families are from Sirijangha, Sidingwa, Mikwakhola and Phaktanglung rural municipalities. Four members of the same family were killed when their house was swept away by landslide at Phaktanglung-2 while one person from Phidim, Panchthar died at Sirijangha.
Landslides triggered by the incessant rain have damaged the roads as well as the hydroelectricity projects in most of the rural areas. The local governments are making efforts to repair the roads. Most of the rural roads have been obstructed in Sirijangha and Phaktanglung rural municipalities, CDO Acharya said.
The locals said that the flooding and landslides have caused most damage on cardamom farming. The people in the rural areas are living in fear of rain-induced disasters as it has been raining daily.
