Floods and landslides, following the continuous downpour since Thursday, September 26, have wreaked havoc across the country.
At least six people have been killed and seven injured in the disasters, according to Nepal Police. While seven others have gone missing, at least 400 people have been displaced.
Most of the highways and major road networks, especially in eastern and central Nepal have been disrupted, leaving passengers stranded along the roads.
Photos and videos shared on social media show flooded rivers entering settlements, sweeping away houses and landslides blocking highways.
Various places in the Kathmandu Valley have been inundated after witnessing around 600 mm of rain in 24 hours till Saturday morning.
Personnel from Nepal Police have been mobilised to conduct the rescue works. The Ministry of Home Affairs called the central security committee on Saturday morning to assess the situation and determine the strategy for carrying out the rescue operation and relief work effectively.
The adverse weather conditions have also affected the domestic flights operations. With the increase in water level, all 56 sluice gates in Saptakoshi River have been opened. The sluice gates in the Kulekhani I Hydropower project’s reservoir were opened on Saturday, September 28, morning after it was filled with rainwater to its capacity.
The water levels in rivers, including Koshi and Narayani, are expected to start declining to their normal levels from Sunday.
The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology had issued a notice on Wednesday, September 25, predicting heavy rainfall across the country from Thursday to Sunday.
Moreover, the department has forecasted heavy rainfall in some places in Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces and a few other places across the country on Saturday.
Here are some photos of the inundation caused by the flooded Bishnumati River in Kathmandu on Saturday morning taken by New Business Age’s photojournalist Sunil Sharma.
(With inputs from RSS)