ITAHARI, JULY 4

Over 300 homes have been inundated in two eastern Tarai districts of Province 1.

According to Nepal Police Province No 1 Office Biratnagar's spokesperson SP Navin Raj Rai, the monsoon-induced flood is severe in Sunsari district where around 204 homes are recorded to have been inundated.

In Itahari 100 homes are deluged in wards 10 and 11.

Meanwhile, 54 homes were submerged in Inaruwa while Koshi Rural Municipality has witnessed 40 flooded homes.

In Sunsari, the inundation is mainly caused by heavy rainfall, said the Information Section of the provincial police headquarters. Meanwhile 138 homes are submerged in the floodwater from the Kesaliya river in Morang.

All affected families have been relocated to public buildings, said police. There are no reports of inundation of settlements in Jhapa.

In the 14 districts of the Province, there are no reports of landslides, and human casualties so far, said SP Rai.

Rai said the flood in Sunsari district has been mitigated with the decreasing level of rains.

The water level of Nepal's biggest transnational river Saptakoshi has seen 229,470 cusecs of water, according to the Control Room at the Koshi Barrage. Koshi Barrage is designed to withstand 954,000 cusecs of water.

As of Saturday evening, 29 Sluice gates have been opened. Koshi Barrage, which was constructed in 1959 and came into operation in 1962, has 56 sluice gates to control the water along the 1150-meter-long barrage connecting Sunsari and Saptari districts. However, on 18 August 2008, when the latest great floods came in Koshi, the water volume was just 148,322 cusecs.

The erosion at Kusaha had caused the unexpected and seemingly unnatural floods. According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Meteorological Forecasting Division Biratnagar, the expected temperature for today measures from 28-30 degrees Celsius with 60 per cent rain probability.