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

21 Feb 2018 Voices from the field

Potential community-based REDD+ interventions for Phekung Village, Myanmar

The regional REDD+ Himalaya Initiative of ICIMOD has been looking for opportunities to introduce sustainable forest management in the Hindu ...

20 Feb 2017 Voices from the field

REDD+ in Dolakha, Nepal: Making a Community Economically Independent

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (REDD+) has finished testing a mechanism that provides financial incentives to locals ...

11 May 2017 Voices from the field

Women benefit most from rainwater harvesting systems at community level in Himalica pilot villages in Myanmar

Pilot project activities focusing on rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems implemented by the Support to Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation ...

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 ...

29 Aug 2016 Voices from the field

Caught amidst a flash flood in Bahrabise

By the mid-monsoon, flash floods of Bhote Koshi had already swept away more than 65 houses and placed 200 more ...

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 ...

10 Jan 2017 Voices from the field

Securing sustainable incomes for locals through responsible tourism in Pulan County, China

Tourism is booming in Pulan County. The traditional landscape of yak herders and agriculturalists in the southwest corner of the ...

5 Apr 2017 Voices from the field

Beekeeping a promising option for farmers in Himalica pilot sites in Ruma Upazila

Pollination is a vital ecosystem service that is essential for ensuring human food security as well as maintaining natural ecosystems. ...

Photo Story: Monsoon Wreaks Havoc in Sindhupalchowk

Stay current

Continue exploring this topic