KATHMANDU: China has informed Nepal that a landslide in Tibet triggered the sudden and devastating flood in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa on Wednesday, according to Nepal’s disaster management authorities.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said it received preliminary information that a landslide in the Tibetan region caused a massive surge of water into the Bhotekoshi.
Shanti Mahat, undersecretary and spokesperson for NDRRMA, said the information was conveyed informally by Chinese authorities and that Nepal was seeking further details to verify the cause.
“Preliminary assessment by technical personnel in the area points to the landslide in Tibet as the main cause,” Mahat said, adding that further investigation was underway.
Dinkar Kayastha, information officer at the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, also said the department’s preliminary assessment points to a landslide in Tibet as the trigger for the sudden flood.
“We have some colleagues in China who are trying to understand exactly what happened,” Kayastha said.
According to Kayastha, the department is collecting additional information through its personnel in China and coordinating through diplomatic and technical channels to establish the exact cause of the disaster.
The sudden flood caused widespread destruction in Rasuwa, sweeping through Timure and nearby market areas, the customs premises, bridges and hydropower infrastructure. A detailed assessment of the damage is underway.
