Nepal is battling a fresh wave of floods and landslides after days of torrential rainfall, with at least 24 people reported dead and 14 others missing across several districts.
The latest disaster has struck less than five weeks after the catastrophic Bhotekoshi-Trishuli flash floods that devastated northern Nepal and left more than 1,400 people dead or missing. However, the current disaster is a separate rainfall-driven event, with heavy rain triggering floods, landslides, river erosion and road damage across several parts of the country.
One of the most dramatic incidents occurred in Mustang District, where a section of a mountainside collapsed into the swollen Kali Gandaki River following days of heavy rain.
Video footage showed the slope giving way within seconds as huge amounts of rock and debris tumbled into the river. The collapse temporarily obstructed the waterway before the river forced its way through the debris.
The incident added to the hazards facing communities in the mountainous district, where heavy rainfall has already caused landslides and disrupted transport.
The Kali Gandaki has emerged as one of the main sources of flooding and erosion during the latest disaster. Floodwaters also affected the Narayani and Tinau rivers, while authorities warned communities living near rivers and other flood-prone areas to remain alert.
The rainfall has also caused extensive damage to Nepal’s road network, cutting off several mountain districts and disrupting routes connecting communities with Kathmandu and other urban centres.
The flooding has damaged infrastructure beyond roads and homes, with hydropower and electricity transmission infrastructure also affected.
In Parbat, the rising Kali Gandaki River damaged a concrete bridge linking Parbat and Baglung. Authorities opened all three gates of the Mirmi dam and stopped power generation at the 144-megawatt Kali Gandaki A hydropower project.
Flooding also damaged transmission infrastructure and affected electricity generation at several hydropower facilities.
The scale of the disruption has raised concerns about access to affected communities as Nepal approaches the Dashain festival period, when millions of people traditionally travel across the country.
The latest floods have struck Nepal only weeks after the country suffered one of its worst recent disasters.
On August 26, an ice and rock avalanche near the Nepal-China border triggered a devastating debris flow and flash flood through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems. The disaster destroyed homes, roads and other infrastructure and affected communities far downstream.
The latest flooding also comes just days after Prime Minister Balendra Shah addressed the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 24.
Shah used the August disaster to call for stronger international action on climate change and climate finance. He told world leaders that the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster “was not just a local tragedy, it was a warning to the world.”
He also warned that “A warming climate is destabilizing the fragile Himalayan ecology”, pointing to melting permafrost and glaciers and the resulting risks of ice-rock avalanches, floods and landslides.
Shah said Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions but faces severe consequences from a warming planet.
“We did not create this crisis, yet we are paying a colossal price for it,” he said during his UN address.
He also proposed a Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism involving countries in the Himalayan region to strengthen monitoring, early-warning systems and cooperation on disasters that cross national borders.
Nepal’s meteorological and disaster authorities continue to warn residents in flood- and landslide-prone areas to remain alert as rainfall and river levels continue to pose risks.
