Flash floods have left at least five people dead and destroyed two villages in central Nepal after a landslide blocked a major river in the early morning hours of 11 October.
The disaster unfolded in the Gorkha district's Chumanubri rural municipality when a pre-dawn landslide obstructed the Budhi Gandaki River. Within hours, river levels surged dramatically from two meters to nearly 8.5 meters, washing away homes, roads, and bridges, and damaging part of a local hydropower station.
According to the national disaster risk reduction and management authority, the flooding damaged 204 homes and impacted more than 650 people. Nearly 100 individuals were rescued, while more than 100 foreign trekkers remained stranded in the popular hiking region. The latest disaster follows severe flooding and landslides that struck near the Tibet border just two months prior.