22 Aug 2016 | Voices from the field

Photo Story: Monsoon Wreaks Havoc in Sindhupalchowk

1 min Read

After the 5 July Bhotekoshi flood in Sindhupalchowk, a team from the HYCOS Initiative of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) visited Barahbise and talked with several people living and working along the Arnico Highway.

Some twenty truckloads of stone was dumped to reinforce Bahrabise bridge’s supporting pillar.

Rajesh Thapa, operator at the Sunkoshi Hydropower Station, received flood alert calls from friends and was able to raise all six bridge gates to release the flood waters unimpeded.

Floodwater dumped stones and boulders at the mouth of the gates, leaving one gate with minor damage.

Debris blocks the flow of water into the diversion intake canals. The 10-MW Sunkoshi Hydropower Stations is currently non-operational.

Recent flooding deposited a large amount of sand in an artificial lake created by the 2014 Jure landslide which blocked the Sunkoshi river. This phenomenon is known as ‘sand casting’.

A cloudburst washes away parts of the Jure road making it impassable until a bulldozer was dispatched by the Department of Roads.

A heavier monsoon means a greater flood risk to downstream communities.

One of many residents of Khadichaur who fled floodwaters that fateful night, Mane Majhi. Like many residents, Majhi was separated in the dark from his father who later returned with a t-shirt full of washed-up fish.

Locals from Ramche VDC worry rain and road construction could trigger landslides and rockfalls.

Mandira Shrestha, HYCOS/ICIMOD Programme Coordinator said what happens upstream in China can have severe consequences downstream in Nepal. Dr Shrestha emphasised the need for transboundary cooperation in terms of flood data sharing and setting up of flood early warning systems, not to mention landslide hazard mapping and mitigation.

Continue exploring this topic

5 Sep 2016 Voices from the field

Straw Mulches aid farmers battling drought

As she planted her batch of bitter gourds in Kalchhe Besi last year, Kamala Timalsina was unsure if they would ...

20 Apr 2017 Voices from the field

Commercial vegetable farming- A new livelihood option for farmers in Udayapur, Nepal

Bishnu Prasad Ghimire, a vegetable farmer from Triyuga, a municipality in Nepal’s Udayapur district, recalls how up until a few ...

18 Dec 2017 Voices from the field

Building social capital through the migrant returnee network

Migration is an important livelihood strategy for people in Nepal. In four Himalica pilot sites in Udayapur (Bagaha, Murkuchi and ...

28 Nov 2016 Voices from the field

Entrepreneurship and Business Plan Development Training

Entrepreneurship development programmes aim to enhance the capacity and willingness of business people to develop, organize, and manage their business ...

6 Dec 2017 Voices from the field

Training on shitake mushroom cultivation in Taplejung

There is immense potential for shitake mushroom cultivation in Nepal’s mountainous areas. And there is plenty of raw material available: ...

19 Apr 2017 Voices from the field

Water quality improvement options being explored in Himalica pilot sites in Myanmar

Training sessions were conducted in three different locations over the course of three days where 110 villagers, fifty percent of ...

18 Nov 2016 Voices from the field

Towards sustainable livelihoods: KSLCDI facilitates training on heritage tourism and sanitation in TAR

Sichuan University, China, with support from ICIMOD’s Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI), and ...

2 Mar 2018 Voices from the field

Unlocking the Potential of Transboundary Tourism in the Kanchenjunga Landscape

The Kanchenjunga landscape of Nepal lies on the southern side of the Kanchenjunga mountain and shares a border with India. ...

Photo Story: Monsoon Wreaks Havoc in Sindhupalchowk

Stay current

Continue exploring this topic