Photo from: Ratopati.com
A catastrophic landslide that hit the mountainous district Sindhuplanchowk almost a week ago had already claimed the lives of 156 peoples; 33 bodies recovered and 123 reported missing are also declared dead. The landslide also damaged a section of Araniko Highway, an only roadway that joins Nepal to Tibet.
Three kilometers section of Araniko Highway at Dam Site in Mankha VDC is under water and the long queue of standstill vehicles are throughout the Crisis Zone. The highway has been closed and its reopening is uncertain. Hence, all transfers for Tibet Tours via Kodari are ongoing through air routes in a helicopter.
A devastating landmass in upper Itani of Ramche VDC 5 slided down to the bank of Sun Koshi River early morning on 2nd August making a dam of boulders and soil. The dam blocked the river route, which formed a huge artificial lake on the site. Twelve hours of continuous water inflow devoid of passage for the outflow, the lake thus formed has already accumulated almost 8 million cusecs water. Though the attempts to increase the outflow of water from the lake are ongoing, the rate of outflow is only 10 cusecs more than the rate of water inflow. The level of threat is still high and the regions beside Sun Koshi are declared Flood Crisis Zone.
Home Ministry officials said the death toll could rise while the aftermath of possible damage caused by the outburst of the accumulated water could be calamitous. Officials said army technicians are trying to make the river route and allow the controllable outflow of water to minimize the risk in the regions of Sun Koshi beyond the dam. Police and army officials are trying to find the missing people and evacuate the villages on the riverside.
Natural calamities happen everywhere, but the landslide at Sindhuplanchowk was extremely disastrous. It turned almost sixty houses into debris. Hundreds have become homeless and infrastructures of the large region have collapsed.
