Budhi Gandaki floods sweep away homes and bridges in Gorkha

A major river in central Nepal has flooded, sweeping away houses, bridges and damaging a hydroelectric facility. Approximately 50 people have been rescued from the Budhi Gandaki River in Gorkha district, with five reported missing and no confirmed deaths to date. The flooding struck as the country prepared to mark the Dashain festival, forcing families to flee their homes with uncertain prospects for shelter and supplies. This incident comes as Nepal continues to recover from catastrophic floods two months ago that killed over 1,400 people.

Water levels in the Budhi Gandaki rose from approximately 2 metres to 8.5 metres in just a couple of hours, sweeping away about a dozen houses and several suspension bridges. A hydrological monitoring station was destroyed in the surge, hampering data collection efforts. The cause remains unclear, though experts suggest a possible landslide or ice-avalanche may have initially blocked the river, causing accumulated water to burst through. Despite the significant damage, hydrologists have noted this debris-flow was smaller and travelled more slowly than the devastating August floods.