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

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 ...

30 Aug 2016 Voices from the field

Jholmal produces safer food and fetches better income

The village of Bhoterungti in Kavre Palanchowk District, Nepal was one of many settlements in the region affected by the ...

25 Jan 2018 Voices from the field

Conservation of natural resources in Myanmar: lessons for REDD+ Interventions

Myanmar has high deforestation and forest degradation rates. A recent article in The Myanmar Times reads. “Myanmar’s forests are in ...

12 Apr 2017 Voices from the field

Delegates from Chitral, Pakistan, visit Nepal to learn about commercial Apis cerana beekeeping

Beekeeping has a spiritual significance among the Kalash community of Pakistan and is considered oshniru or sacred. Beekeeping is practiced ...

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 ...

22 Feb 2017 Voices from the field

Hands on Training on Contour Hedgerow Agroforestry Practices to Farmers and District Agricultural Office Staff from Argakhanchi

ICIMOD Knowledge Park provided 3 days hands on training to farmers and District Agriculture Office staff from Argakhanchi district which ...

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. ...

1 Mar 2017 Voices from the field

Animal urine proves instrumental in aiding biogas production

An active member of an all-women farmers’ group, the Shree Shramjivi Mahila Krisak Samuha, Timalsina has been participating in group ...

Photo Story: Monsoon Wreaks Havoc in Sindhupalchowk

Stay current

Continue exploring this topic