Kathmandu: The risk posed by a landslide that partially obstructed the Chameliya River in western Nepal’s Darchula district Friday has subsided after the river gradually washed away the landslide debris, a senior local official said.
The Chameliya River, a tributary of the Mahakali River, which forms the boundary between Nepal and India, was partially blocked at Bhattar in Apihimal Rural Municipality of Darchula due to continuous landslides in the area from Friday morning until the afternoon.
The District Administration Office in Darchula subsequently issued an alert, asking residents living along the banks of the Chameliya, locally known as the Chaulani River, to remain on high alert over the possibility that the river could become completely blocked, potentially posing a serious risk to downstream settlements.
The administration urged residents in downstream areas and concerned government agencies to take precautionary measures to prevent possible loss of life and property.
However, the natural blockage created by the landslide gradually receded on Friday, reducing the risk of a large-scale disaster such as the one triggered by the Bhote Koshi River in Rasuwa district last week.
“The river has gradually washed away the landslide debris and sediment, and the river was flowing freely by early Friday evening when we verified the situation,” Mohan Singh Dhami, Assistant Chief District Officer of Darchula, told IANS.
He, however, said his office was facing difficulties in obtaining real-time information from the affected area after sunset, as mobile connectivity in the area is completely disrupted.
According to Dhami, the landslide began falling at around 10–11 am, with more significant movement occurring between 1 and 2 pm Friday. The situation was verified at around 4–5 pm, by which time the risk had decreased and the river had reopened.
“If a major blockage were to occur in the Chameliya River, the risk would be greater in the upstream areas of Nepal, while the impact could also extend to downstream areas and even into India,” Dhami said.
Experts have warned that Nepal faces a growing risk of rivers being temporarily blocked by landslides, glacier collapses and debris avalanches as climate change destabilises the Himalayan environment.
They say rising temperatures are accelerating glacier retreat and permafrost degradation, weakening mountain slopes and increasing the likelihood of cascading hazards in Nepal’s fragile high-mountain terrain. Such events can send huge volumes of ice, rock and sediment into river valleys, temporarily blocking rivers and creating natural dams.
The natural disaster in Nepal’s Rasuwa region last week demonstrated how quickly such a chain of events can develop.
Meanwhile, as many as 1,294 people have so far died in last week’s floods in Nepal, while 5,053 people remained out of contact as of Friday evening, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
IANS
