After west, heavy rains ravage the east

KATHMANDU, JUL 11 -
Torrential rains continued to lash the eastern and central hill districts of the country on Wednesday, inundating residential areas, damaging homes and washing away farmland at several places.

Continuous downpour in the hilly region for the past few days has caused the water level to rise in rivers and streams flowing in the southern Tarai belt. As a result, swollen rivers are spilling over their banks and flooding nearby settlements, roads and farmlands. Lack of proper sewage systems, meanwhile, has caused rainwaters to enter homes in many town areas. While many districts in western Nepal, including Darchula, Kailali, Banke and Bardiya, are still reeling under the aftermath of last month’s floods and landslides, people in the eastern and central Tarai districts are grappling with similar crises these days. Beleaguered by the floods and the lurking threat of further disaster stirred by nonstop rainfall , there is no knowing how much damage the flooding has actually caused in the eastern and central Tarai districts so far. Floodwaters have swamped hundreds of houses in Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts in the past three days. Dozens of houses were damaged and huge swathes of farm areas were flooded. Authorities in Jhapa district estimate that more than 1,000 people have been displaced in places like Panchgachhi, Rajgadh, Bhadrapur, Taghnaduba, Saranamati, Gaurigunj and Satasidham.

Police in Morang district said floodwaters have inundated as many as 1,000 houses. Many more houses in places like Belbari, Urlabari, Gobindapur, Itahara and Motipur are at risk. Meanwhile, floodwaters from the Koshi river are posing a threat to Jalal village of Mahendranagar-5 in Sunsari district. At least six people drowned in flooded rivers and three others are reported missing in various eastern districts.

In Saptari, more than 60 houses have been waterlogged after floodwaters from different rivers entered human settlements.

Flood triggered by incessant rains in Rautahat district caused a dam to burst in Lalbakaiya river on Wednesday afternoon. The floodwaters have entered the district headquarters of Gaur, inundating different areas. Chief District Officer Dil Bahadur Ghimire said personnel from the Nepal Army, the Armed Police Force and the Nepal Police were deployed to plug the breach in the dam. Floodwaters from the Lalbakaiya river have also drenched VDCs like Fatuha Harsaha, Banjaraha, Auraiya, Bairiya and Tejapakad.

Bridge sinks in Bara district

BARA: Heavy rainfall in Bara district caused a bridge along the Pathlaiya-Nijgadh section of the East West Highway to sink on Wednesday, disrupting vehicular and public movement. Deputy Superintendent of Police Sharda Prasad Chaudhary said one of the pillars of the Dudhaura bridge at Pipara Simara-9 started sinking since morning. He said the bridge has been closed for vehicles and people alike on the orders of CDO Durga Prasad Pokharel. Workers from the Road Division Office and Armed Police Force and Nepal Police personnel have been mobilised to construct a diversion along the highway.

(With reporting from our district correspondents)

The damage

•    Floodwaters swamp hundreds of houses in Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts

•    Six people drown in flooded rivers, three others missing

•    More than 1,000 people displaced in Jhapa

•    Koshi river floodwaters posing threat to Jalal village in Sunsari district

•    Dam in the Lalbakaiya river in Rautahat bursts, leading to floodwaters entering the district headquar-ters of Gaur

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