Monsoon unleashes new havoc, killing four, leaving 8 missing

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Aug. :  At least four persons were killed and eight others went missing in monsoon-induced disasters like floods and landslides in different parts of the country on Tuesday. 

The incessant rains that occurred since Monday night has caused inundation in different parts of the Kathmandu Valley. The District Police Range, Kathmandu has said Dhungedhara, Gaurighat, Guheshwori, Kapan, Samakhushi and Anamnagar, among others have been inundated after heavy downpour. 

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dan Bahadur Karki said, "Heavy rains occurred since Monday night inundated many places in the Kathmandu Valley. Police teams and APF deployed from different units of the Valley engaged in making people aware to stay safe in the places near the Bagmati and Manohara Rivers with regular patrol and miking." 

The inundations have badly affected public life. Waterlogged roads and schools have caused sheer inconvenience to the people. 

Police have said the downpour that occurred at Budhanilakantha, Sundarijal and Nagarkot areas flooded the rivers and streams in the Kathmandu Valley. 

The Weather Forecasting Division, under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, had issued an alert to all the people to stay safe in the places near the Bishnumati, Dhobikhola, Bagmati, Manohara Rivers citing that there would be high water levels in the rivers till 11:00 am. 

Police teams have been mobilised in different places for public awareness and safety in the wake of floods and inundation, SSP Karki said. 

In Bhaktapur, a four-roomed house of Bidur KC of Changu Narayan Municipality-1 was damaged after a landslide from above the house hit the wall on Tuesday morning. 

Similarly, a rescue team of Nepal Police and APF deployed from Duwakot, Bhaktapur, rescued four persons, including a priest of Ram Temple in Bhaktapur Municipality-4, who were trapped in the temple after it was waterlogged, said DSP Basanta Pathak of Bhaktapur District Police Range. 

Meanwhile, in Makwanpur district, a woman was killed and six went missing in a monsoon-induced disaster. 

A mudslide triggered by a heavy downpour buried the house of one Akkal Bahadur Syangtan in Bagmati Rural Municipality-5 of the district at around 4:00 am Tuesday, killing his 55-year-old wife.

Locals rescued the woman and rushed her for treatment. But she breathed her last while undergoing treatment at the local health post, said Sarkesh Ghalan, chairperson of the Rural Municipality.

Syangtan, his 22-year-old daughter, 25-year-old son-in-law, two grandchildren and a guest, a 16-year-old man of Sindhuli, went missing in the mudslide.

Tek Bahadur Karki, Deputy Superintendent of Police of Makwanpur District Police Office, said security personnel have been mobilised for the rescue, adding that the police from the bordering Kavre district are also assisting.

Two go missing in Dhanusha

Similarly, another two persons have been missing in a flood in the Kamala River bordering Dhanusha and Siraha districts. Area Police Office Inspector Kabin Rai said that they were swept away by the flood while collecting the firewood that was brought by the river. 

Likewise, 17-year-old boy Subodh Yadav of Mithila Municipality-2, was swept away by a local Basahi River of Dhanusha district on Tuesday. Police Inspector Deepak Karki of the Area Police Office, Mahendranagar, said that the boy was killed while he was crossing the river. 

In Gadhmai Municipality of Rautahat district, a man drowned in a flood. According to District Police Office, 65-year-old Sahid Raya of Gadhimai Municipality-2 drowned in the flood. 

Meanwhile, in Dhangadhi, 642 families have been affected by the floods in different rivers triggered by continuous rains for the past two days. 

District Administration Office, Kailali, said that locals residing in Bhajani Municipality, Kailari Rural Municipality and Joshipur Rural Municipality have been affected the most. Of the total affected families, 150 families are from Shiradhan camp of Bhajani Municipality-7, 50 families from Kuti of Ward No. 5, 16 families from Puliyapur, 15 families from Mohanpur-2 and five from Dhusi of Ward No. 3 and one family from Janakpur of Ward No. 8. 

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Likewise, 155 families of Kailari Rural Municipality-7, 85 from Chhatakpur Basanta, 50 from Badka Basanta, 20 from Bhuinyaphanta have been affected by the flood. 

Similarly, 56 families residing at Phandiya Bhitariya of Joshipur Rural Municipality-3 and 14 families from Kanari of Dhangadi Sub-metropolitan City-15 were affected by the flood. 

Six rescued from Godawari River

A joint rescue team of Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Nepali Army has rescued six people trapped in the confluence of the Goadwari River in Godawari Rural Municipality-4 of Kailali district. They were rescued at Monday midnight, DSP Kuldip Chand said. 

Bhimdutta Highway obstructed  

Landslide on the Bhimdutta Highway has obstructed traffic since Monday night in Sudurpaschim Province. The highway is considered as lifeline that connects the seven hilly districts. 

 Nepal-India border pillar swept away 

Flood in the Mohana River at Bhainseghat of Dhangadhi Sub-metropolis-9 swept away the border pillar between Nepal and India, according to information officer Shivaraj Joshi of the District Administration Office, Kailali. 

One dies in Panauti, Kavre

A man died in a flood that came in the Ghyalku River of Panauti Municipality and Banepa Municipality on Tuesday. 

The deceased was identified as Kamal Bhujel, temporarily residing in Panauti-3 and a permanent resident of Sindhupalchowk. 

The man had been operating a street shop in Banepa-14 of the district. 

Three highways of Bagmati Province obstructed 

While the Bhimphedi road section came to operation that was blocked because of the landslide at Jyaltar of Bhimphedi Rural Municipality-2 of Makwanpur district, three other major highways – BP Highway, Mid-Hill Highway and Madan Bhandari Highway – faced obstruction following landslides in several places, Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Silwal said. 

Efforts have been made to clear the debris to resume the traffic, said police. 

(With inputs from Bagmati Province Bureau, Kedar Timilsina from Kavre, Bijaya Kumar Sah from Dhanusha, Sanjay Kumar Mishra from Gaur, Abinash Chaudhary from Dhangadhi, and Baitadi correspondent)