Two settlements in Humla at high risk of flood and landslides

Kathmandu: Incessant rainfall has put two villages, at Sarkegad Rural Municipality in Humla district, at high risk of flood and landslide.

The area has been facing incessant rainfall for three weeks. Ripa at Sarkegad Rural Municipality, Ward No. 2 is at risk of landslide while Rahadeu which falls in Ward No. 8 of the rural municipality is at risk of both flood and landslide.

‘Massive flooding and landslide triggered by continuous rains around the village on July 28 have further increased the risk of landslide, ‘ said a local Bhakti Phadera. Phadera narrated that mudslide was taking place at various locations in the area and the locals are stranded on an island. He lamented that more than 500 residents of the village were at risk of burying by landslides if not evacuated on time.

‘We are living on an “island.” There is mudflow around the village. There is no place to move out from the island. Power lines, the water source, and our crops in the fields all have been swept away by the flood,’ he said of the damage caused by flood and landslide, adding that the only things left are the houses and their residents.

Daljeet Karki, another local, shared that the villagers were staying under the open sky with hungry stomachs for the last two days due to fear of more flooding and landslides. ‘We have requested the bodies concerned for rescue, but no rescue and relief has come to us so far,’ said Siddha Karki, the Ward No. 2 Chair.

He said that landslides and floods had damaged 50 thousand hectares of arable land and settlement areas. The bridge over Ripagad and Lipnejhola streams has been completely damaged, halting people’s movement. Karki said that the hydropower project in the Ripagad Khola had been damaged.

Water supply structures, communication infrastructure, and school buildings have also been damaged, affecting the daily life of the people. Deepak Malla, the spokesperson at the District Police Office, said that the flood and landslide at Ripa and Sarkedeu villages had caused damage to physical properties and crops.

According to him, although no human casualties have been reported, micro-hydel projects, roads, and houses have been damaged due to the natural disaster.

RSS