Heavy casualties are feared after a massive flash flood in parts of northern Nepal washed away villages and damaged infrastructure, including a hydropower dam.
The flood hit early on Wednesday in Rasuwa, an area north of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. It borders the Himalayan region of Tibet and is along Nepal’s main trading route with China.
Officials believe the flood was caused by melting snow that had fallen into the Bhote Koshi river that flows from Tibet to Nepal.
Several districts downstream are on high alert. While officials expect the damage to be severe, it is too early to estimate the scale, Rasuwa chief district officer Narendra Pariyar told BBC Nepali.
Twelve people have been rescued so far as search and rescue operations continue.
“Our logistics company has seven container trucks there, all staffed by Nepali employees. We have lost contact with all of them. There is no signal, so we cannot reach anyone,” Yee Liang, a Chinese businessman based in Kathmandu, told the BBC.
“As far as I know, there was no warning. There were occasional mudslides and landslides, especially in the rainy season, but this one seems much more serious. “
Nepal’s disaster management authority called on people living near river banks in vulnerable areas to remain alert and take precautions.
“Work has started to take necessary steps in coordination with the medical team, scouts, and Red Cross,” Prime Minister Balendra Shah said in a social media post, after holding an emergency meeting to take stock of the situation.
Authorities said 13 officers from the armed police force were missing from two posts in Rasuwa district, and they had not been able to contact dozens of other police officers.
Rasuwa saw deadly flooding last year that killed 18 people after a glacier burst on the Chinese side of the border.
Officials have told the BBC that they believe the scale of Wednesday’s disaster exceeds last year’s floods.
