Disaster Response Base set up in Gulmi ahead of monsoon

By Toplal Aryal,Resunga (Gulmi), May 5: More than 200 locations in Gulmi district are at risk of floods and landslides, according to the District Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan 2082 (2026).

Heavy rainfall has already been recorded in the month of April/May, raising concerns in the hilly district, which faces recurrent landslides every year, often causing significant human and material losses.

In 2007 and 2024, a total of 10 people lost their lives in landslides in Musikot alone, where more than 50 locations are currently at risk. 

In 2024, five members of a single family died in a landslide in Malika Rural Municipality. Similarly, in 2019, 13 people were killed in a landslide in Satyawati Rural Municipality, displacing more than 300 families.

Despite repeated incidents causing heavy losses, authorities have yet to implement concrete measures for risk reduction.

Hari Prasad Gaire, information officer at the District Administration Office, Gulmi, said efforts are underway to keep roads operational, identify high-risk areas and maintain preparedness, with teams from Nepal Police, the Nepal Army and the Armed Police Force on standby. Work is also ongoing to prepare this year’s monsoon response plan.

With the onset of the rainy season, a disaster response base has been set up in Wami, Gulmi, to enable immediate rescue during potential floods and landslides. The base has been established at the Rudrawati Multiple Campus of Musikot Municipality-7.

According to the District Security Committee’s decision, a 15-member team led by Armed Police Sub-Inspector Top Bahadur Kumal from the Armed Police Force No. 37 Battalion, Gulmi, has been deployed at the base.

The team will carry out rescue operations, road safety management and public awareness activities. Battalion chief Superintendent of Armed Police Sudip Prasai said trained personnel are stationed at the base to ensure swift rescue, with coordination available from higher authorities, including divers if required. 

He added that the base was also set up in Wami due to its proximity to Gandaki Province. The base focuses on disaster response in settlements in Constituency No. 1, which are far from the district headquarters. A similar base was established last year in Majhuwa, Chandrakot Rural Municipality-8.

The Badigad River has been eroding plot and settlements, putting areas such as Jhedi, Bhuwachidi, Sota, Majhuwa, Ullikhola, Chorkate and Khaireni at risk of flooding. 

Meanwhile, the Ridi-Rudrabenni-Wami main road and its feeder roads are frequently blocked by landslides.