Families displaced as monsoon menace continues in east Nepal

By Our Correspondents, Taplejung/Jhapa, June 19: Floods and landslides triggered by incessant rains have displaced 86 families in Taplejung and Jhapa districts as of Tuesday. Of them, 81 families have been displaced in the Himalayan district of Taplejung.  According to the details of the District Police Office, Taplejung, 81 families were displaced by the landslides in one and a half weeks after the onset of the monsoon. 

The District Police Office, Taplejung, has said that the rainfall has begun in the district since June 9, and the floods and landslides triggered by rains caused significant damage to life and property.According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Rabi Rawal, the floods and landslides have completely damaged eight houses so far.

Details collected indicate that 18 houses are at high risk and 55 houses are at risk in various areas of the district, DSP Rawal said. He said that due to the floods and landslides, a total of 81 families, including those in high-risk areas, at-risk areas and completely damaged houses have been displaced. 

Among the displaced families, 163 women and 179 men are currently taking shelter in safe places, either in relatives’ homes or in schools. Additionally, the floods and landslides washed away two motorable wooden bridges, one suspension bridge and one cemented bridge in the district. 

The police reported that one crusher industry, four vehicles, one livestock farm, and nine sheds were damaged by the floods and landslides. Furthermore, landslides have damaged land with nine cardamom farms. So far, 84 cattle have died when they were swept away or buried by landslides. Thirty-one other animals and birds perished in several landslides. The District Police Office said that five persons, three women and two men, died in the landslides in Taplejung. 

Additionally, two persons, one woman and one man, were injured. Continuous rainfall has caused significant damage to most of the roads in the district, and some roads have been completely obstructed, according to the police.

Likewise, continuous rainfall over the past few days has affected normal life in Jhapa. Five houses have been displaced and dozens of houses flooded.

According to the Jhapa Branch of the Nepal Red Cross Society, the families of Deepak Acharya, Sita Dulal, Pradeep Singh, and Nabin Baraili from Yuwatole of Jhapa Rural Municipality-6, were displaced when the Birring River overflowed, causing flood in the settlement. 

The displaced families are currently residing in a vacant house owned by local Kedar Shrestha. The premises of Pashupati Secondary School in Rajgadh, Bahradashi Rural Municipality were waterlogged. Classes were disrupted on Tuesday after the flooding. The police have said that most areas in Kachankawal, Jhapa and Gaurigunj have been submerged. They are currently assessing the damage caused by the rainfall.

Similarly, a landslide in Lapchetar of Arjundhara Municipality-2 has displaced one family. The landslide buried and damaged the house of local Pushpa Samal Magar, according to Lok Raj Dhakal, the president of the Jhapa Red Cross. The Magar family has been relocated to a safe place. The Nepal Red Cross Society Jhapa Branch said that additionally, 10 houses along the Madan Bhandari Road in Arjundhara-2 have been flooded, according to Dhakal. The water source in ward number 1 of Arjundhara has also been damaged.

Also, 10 houses in the north of Madan Bhandari Road have been submerged at Ratte of Arjundhara-2. The road leading to Lapchetar is completely blocked, and in some areas, the swollen Goyang and Tangting Rivers has begun eroding the farm land. 

(With inputs from Chandra Pandak of Taplejung and Bishnu Pokhrel from Jhapa, Damak.)