Trishuli: An earthquake in China and an alert of a fresh flood has prompted Nepal to suspend rescue operations in the areas affected by a disastrous flash flood in the Bhote Koshi River on Wednesday.
The death toll has now risen to 475, according to police, The Kathmandu Post reported. Over 1,000 people are missing. There are several Indian nationals among the dead and missing.
All forms of work, including the rebuilding of the roads in the region, have halted, a police official told ANI.
“The water level is about to rise, so everyone is being stopped. The vehicles that were engaged in the operation are all returning. They are all coming back. Everyone is being evacuated from there and is being taken to a safe location. All the work has stopped. Even worse flooding is yet to come; that is why everyone is being put on alert,” Nepal Police officer P Chaudhary said.
Earlier on Friday, an earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hit Sichuan in China, prompting a flood alert in Nepal. People in the Trishuli area of Nepal were evacuated again as a heavy flow of water from above has threatened to raise the river’s water level, Nepal Police stated.
The earthquake jolted Longchang City in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre, CGTN reported.
The Nepal Police said that a dam on the Tibet side has burst again.
“Information has been received that the water dam on the Tibet side has burst again. Therefore, all security personnel, rescue workers involved in rescue and relief operations, and the general public are requested to remain immediately alert and move to safe locations or notify others,” the Nepal Police posted on X.
Leader of Opposition in the House of Representatives, Bhishma Raj Angdembe, however, said that Nepal’s army is continuing the rescue operations despite geographical challenges.
“The geographical terrain here makes the weather conditions unfavourable for operations, yet our army and all our helicopter teams are fully engaged in the effort. Given the conditions upstream, we are taking immediate action–the federal, provincial, and local governments are all working together. There are two army helicopters, along with others from the private sector, all deployed in the operation. We are utilising every resource available to us. We are keeping everyone informed, and our security agencies are issuing advisories urging people to stay safe,” he told reporters in Trishuli.
Work on the road being built from Trishuli to Rasuka has been temporarily halted. All JCB machines have been recalled, and all road construction work has been stopped.
Meanwhile, Nepal has turned down offers of assistance from foreign agencies in rescue and relief, citing the lack of coordination that allegedly took place after the 2015 earthquake.
This has given rise to concerns on whether Nepal is equipped to manage a calamity of this stature.