Thousands of panic-stricken villagers fled their homes fearing flash floods after an overnight landslide blocked a river in quake-hit Nepal’s mountainous northwest, officials said yesterday.
The landslide, which occurred about midnight, sent mud and rocks surging into the Kali Gandaki River in Myagdi District, causing water levels to rise by 150m, local official Yam Bahadur Chokhal said.
“We have evacuated about 100 people from the affected area, people in other villages don’t need immediate rescue but thousands have left on their own,” Chokhal said.
An army helicopter carrying soldiers and geologists has reached the site, according to Nepalese Ministry of Home Affairs spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal.
“The chopper has landed and our experts are now assessing the situation to find the best way to open the blockage and drain the 2 kilometer long artificial lake created by the landslide,” Dhakal said.
Fresh, smaller landslides were continuing to send debris into the river, hampering efforts to clear the blockage, police and district officials said.
The region has witnessed several small landslides in recent days, said local official Trivikram Sharma, based in the district headquarters of Beni, 185km west of Kathmandu.
“After the two quakes, villagers have reported several minor landslides and late last night, they said the hill just came down,” Sharma said. “We cannot immediately assess the risk of flash floods, but people are obviously scared that the artificial dam will burst suddenly and submerge their homes.”
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