DHARAN, JUNE 18
Three people were killed, thirteen injured and 28 were reported missing in the floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains last night in Koshi Province.
One person each died in the floods and landslides in Sankhuwasabha, Bhojpur and Taplejung districts.
A total of 28 people have gone missing. Twenty are missing in Sankhuwasabha, five in Panchthar and three in Taplejung, according to Rajesh Nath Bastola, head of Koshi Province Police Office.
Floods washed away seven houses in Sankhuwasabha. Fifteen workers at the Upper Hewakhola Hydroelectricity Project have gone out of contact. Among the 18 workers there, three have reportedly come in contact with police.
Similarly, five people are reported missing in Makalu Rural Municipality. One person's body was found. Police surmise the body could be that of a worker at the Upper Hewa Khola Hydroelectricity Project.
Additionally, the flood has also damaged the under construction Super Hewa Hydro Project in Ward No 4 of Chainpur, Sankhuwasabha district.
Five people have gone missing in Panchthar. They are workers of the Hewa-1 Hydropower Project. They are: as Dil Kumar Tamang and Sanjog Lowa from Ward No 7 of Hilihang, Ashish and Elisa Majhi from Ward No 10 of Phidim, and another person from Ward No 4 of Phidim.
Floods and landslides have washed away the Hewakhola Bridge, which connects Ward No 4 of Phidim Municipality with Ward No 7 of Hilihang Rural Municipality on the Mechi Highway.
Rajeshnath Bastola, DIG, at Koshi Province Police Office, informed that the highway was completely blocked after the bridge collapsed.
In Mehel of Siddhingwa Rural Municipality in Taplejung, landslides damaged houses and swept away three members of a family. They are reported missing.
"The floods and landslides have damaged many hydropower projects and washed away bridges in Sankhuwasabha, Panchthar and Taplejung," said DIG Bastola.
Bridges along the Tamor Corridor have collapsed and the Dhankuta-Mulghat road has closed. DIG Bastola said Nepal police, Nepali Army and APF personnel were deployed to rescue victims in the three districts.
Meanwhile, a government team led by Koshi Province Minister of Drinking Water, Irrigation, and Energy, Tila Kumar Meyangbo, observed the affected areas.
It is estimated that the floods and landslides have damaged property and infrastructure worth Rs 50 crore in Koshi Province.
Several hydropower projects - both under-construction and completed - in Sankhuwasabha, Taplejung, and Panchthar districts have been damaged.
The Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal reported that the floods damaged 13 hydroelectric projects with a total capacity of 150 megawatts.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 19, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
