Over 2‚000 households inundated in Deukhuri

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

DANG: More than 2,000 houses have been inundated in the Deukhuri belt of Dang district after floodwaters from the rain-fed local rivers gushed into villages.

Three VDCs in Deukhuri have been affected the most after flooded Rapti, Sisahaniya, Kalapadolaikhola, Karamdikhola and Singaikhola rivers breached their course and gushed into the human settlements following incessant rainfall since yesterday.

A source at Dang District Police Office said more than 2,000 houses in Wards No 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Sonpur VDC, Wards No 2, 4, 7, 8 and 9 of Lalmatiya VDC and Wards No 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Sisahaniya VDC have been left completely awash. More than 1,700 houses have been inundated in Sisahaniya VDC alone. In Sonapur VDC, 62 houses have been damaged.

According to Dang Chief District Officer Madhusudan Burlakoti, who reached the flood-affected area today for an on-field inspection, the local administration was yet to get a detailed report of damage caused by the floods. "Our primary data shows that more than 2,000 houses have been inundated," said Burlakoti, adding that an old woman who was trapped in her house was rescued and brought to Lamahi, the nearest town, for treatment.

Damage is likely to mount. The villagers, however, had managed to survive by rushing to rooftops of their houses as floodwaters started to gush into the villages last night.

Police and army personnel and Nepal Red Cross Society volunteers had reached the flooded area in the night itself to rescue the trapped villagers. This is said to be the worst flood in the region in 50 years. SP Ganesh Bahadur Eir of Dang DPO said the damage can be estimated only after floodwaters recede.

In Kapilvastu, most of the houses in Phulika and Sauraha villages have been inundated and settlements near the Jagadishpur lake are in danger of lake outburst with monsoon rains continuously pounding the region. According to locals, over a dozen villages in five VDCs, including Badauli and Rangapur, have been affected. Vehicular movement along the Mahendra Highway has been disrupted due to a landslide in Dhankhola. Torrential rain has deluged most of Siddhartha Municipality and the main entrance of Gautam Buddha Airport in Bhairahawa has been inundated with water up to one foot high.

Rain-triggered landslides have damaged about a dozen houses in Terhathum. Jirikhimti, Morahang, Shreejung and Pauntha VDCs are worst hit with three houses in Jirikhimti at landslide risk. Three houses are learnt to have been damaged in Morahang and four in Pauntha and Shreejung.

In Dailekh, 18 houses are in danger after a landslide hit Chamunda VDC in Bakhrenigaun yesterday night. One family has been displaced. According to DSP Sudarshan Thapa, a police team has been deployed to collect the details of the damage.