Daijiworld Media Network – Kathmandu

Kathmandu, Oct 11: Fresh flooding along Nepal’s Budhi Gandaki River has swept away three bridges and damaged houses in Gorkha district, raising concerns about further flooding in vulnerable settlements weeks after devastating floods and landslides killed more than 1,400 people across the country.

According to Nepal Police, the latest flooding followed a landslide that blocked the river between Lokpa and Chumling in Chumnubri Rural Municipality-6, raising fears of further flooding in settlements along the river.

An old suspension footbridge connecting Nyakchet and Sirdibas in Chumnubri-3 was swept away by the floodwaters. A mud house belonging to Ram Bahadur Gurung in Sirdibas was also washed away, while water entered another house belonging to him.

In a separate incident, floodwaters destroyed a suspension footbridge connecting Machhakhola in Dharche Rural Municipality-5 with Kerauja. Water entered five to seven houses and a similar number of sheds in the lower settlement of Machhakhola, police said.

Around 20 to 22 houses in Salleri, Dharche-3, were also reported to be at risk. The steel bridge at Soti, connecting wards 2 and 3 of Aarughat Rural Municipality, was swept away as the river surged.

The latest flooding comes weeks after catastrophic floods and landslides struck Nepal on August 26, causing widespread destruction across several districts. The disaster affected areas along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems, destroying homes and critical infrastructure, including roads and bridges.

By October 5, the August disaster had claimed at least 1,455 lives, while 5,285 people remained missing, according to Reuters. Official search-and-rescue operations had ended, with authorities shifting their focus towards rehabilitation and reconstruction.

The repeated flooding has added to the challenges faced by communities already struggling with the loss of homes, livelihoods and essential transport links following the earlier disaster.