(Nepal Flag. Photo by Punch News)
A massive flood tore through Nepal’s Rasuwa district in the north on Wednesday, destroying roads and power infrastructure while authorities worked to figure out how much damage was done.
Videos showed huge walls of muddy water rushing through mountain valleys in the Himalayan region near the Chinese border.
Police said the flooding was severe but they weren’t yet sure of the full extent of destruction, warning it likely damaged many settlements.
Authorities told people living near riverbanks to leave their homes and moved all available resources to the area.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah called an emergency meeting to address the disaster.
The Nepal Army deployed helicopters and rescue teams to assess the situation.
The flooding damaged about 430 megawatts of power generation capacity from hydropower and solar facilities.
Electricity transmission and distribution systems were hit, causing widespread outages. Several highways were closed as well.
Monsoon rains between June and September regularly cause deadly floods and landslides across South Asia.
Scientists say climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent and severe in the region.
