Flash floods hit central Nepal on Sunday, sweeping away houses and leaving at least five people missing, officials said, weeks after devastating flooding killed hundreds. A sudden surge along the Budhi Gandaki River in Gorkha district tore through riverside communities, washing away buildings, bridges and parts of a hydropower project. Videos circulating online showed a dark, debris-filled river surging through the hills.

A landslide that burst

National disaster agency chief Dharam Raj Uprety told AFP that a dry landslide had blocked the river, and the dammed water then burst to cause the flood. Around 45 houses were swept away, with the flood also damaging three hydropower projects and four bridges. Within a couple of hours, water levels at one monitoring point rose from two metres to nearly 8.5 metres. A government meteorologist said the surge even swept away the hydrological station, cutting off data feeds just as the river peaked.

Authorities had earlier issued an alert urging residents to move away from the river. The flood struck as families were preparing to mark the first day of Dashain, a major festival in the Nepali calendar, forcing many to flee with whatever they could carry.

Rescue efforts and a fragile region

The disaster agency said at least 82 people, including nine foreigners, had been rescued from the affected areas, and four helicopters were deployed to support rescue and evacuation efforts. Uprety confirmed five people remained unaccounted for, though no deaths had been reported so far. Save the Children said it was deploying an emergency team, warning that many children were likely to be in shock.

The flooding comes as Nepal is still recovering from catastrophic floods triggered by a mountain glacial collapse on August 26, which killed more than 1,400 people and left over 5,000 missing. The Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said the floods highlight the range of hazards capable of generating destructive floods in Himalayan river systems.