A significant flood originating from Tibet surged into Nepal's Bhotekoshi river, causing widespread destruction across multiple districts. The event was preceded by two minor earthquakes near the Nepal-China border, although a direct causal link is yet to be established. Authorities issued extensive SMS alerts to residents in vulnerable areas, urging them to seek higher ground as floodwaters rapidly breached danger levels at various monitoring stations. The flash flood progressed through the Trishuli river system, impacting settlements and infrastructure, including the destruction of a bridge, before gradually receding by the evening. This rapid and destructive flood event underscores the critical importance of real-time monitoring and effective disaster response systems in the region.

A significant flood originating from Tibet surged into Nepal's Bhotekoshi river, causing widespread destruction across multiple districts. The event was preceded by two minor earthquakes near the Nepal-China border, although a direct causal link is yet to be established. Authorities issued extensive SMS alerts to residents in vulnerable areas, urging them to seek higher ground as floodwaters rapidly breached danger levels at various monitoring stations. The flash flood progressed through the Trishuli river system, impacting settlements and infrastructure, including the destruction of a bridge, before gradually receding by the evening. This rapid and destructive flood event underscores the critical importance of real-time monitoring and effective disaster response systems in the region.

A significant flood originating from Tibet surged into Nepal's Bhotekoshi river, causing widespread destruction across multiple districts. The event was preceded by two minor earthquakes near the Nepal-China border, although a direct causal link is yet to be established. Authorities issued extensive SMS alerts to residents in vulnerable areas, urging them to seek higher ground as floodwaters rapidly breached danger levels at various monitoring stations. The flash flood progressed through the Trishuli river system, impacting settlements and infrastructure, including the destruction of a bridge, before gradually receding by the evening. This rapid and destructive flood event underscores the critical importance of real-time monitoring and effective disaster response systems in the region.

A flood that crossed over to Nepal’s borders from Tibet took over  10 hours to hit the Bhotekoshi river in Rasuwa, causing widespread havoc across the region. As per the detailed technical analysis, the water swarmed the Bhotekoshi on Wednesday morning before reaching the Narayani river in 10 hours.

As per the data released by the Flood Forecasting Division of the  Centre of Hydrology and Water Resources Research, authorities received information at 9:05 am on Wednesday that a major flood had entered the Bhotekoshi from the Tibetan side.

A statement issued by the Division's spokesperson and Deputy Executive Director Dr. Rajan Bhattarai said analysis of satellite images and preliminary data indicated two earthquakes were measured near the Nepal-China border before the floods on Wednesday morning. The tremors measured 2.6 on the Richter scale was recorded near the Rasuwagadhi border area at 8:20 am. Seventeen minutes later, at 8:37 am, another measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale was recorded. However, it is not clear whether the earthquakes and floods were related.

However, three minutes after the earthquake, the Rasuwagadhi  Hydrometer Station, located just 1 kilometre below the border,  measured the water level of the Bhotekoshi at 1.62 meters. The alert level of the Bhotekoshi water level has been set at 6 metres and the danger level at 7 metres, according to The Kathmandu Post.

However, the centre stopped sending details after 8:40 am. It is believed that the floods washed away the Centre.

Authorities were alerted of the flood 15 minutes later, when the water had entered the Bhotekoshi river from Tibet. Between 9:15 am and 9:16 am, SMS alerts were sent to residents in riverbank areas of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Chitwan, urging them to remain on high alert. More than 600,000 messages were sent, the reports added.

By 9:20 am, the Betrawati water-level monitoring station also stopped transmitting data, after recording the level was 3.55 metres. Authorities then began sending alerts to people along the  Prithvi Highway, the Muglin-Narayanghat road and settlements along the Trishuli river that the water would hit these areas in an hour.

At 11:26 am, the river level at the Phurke monitoring station had recorded that the water level breached the danger mark. Within 17 minutes, the flood swept away the Phurke river bridge and other structures.

At 1:30 pm, the flood water had passed Muglin and Devghat reached 4.76 metres at 1:30 pm. At 2:14 pm, the water level at the  Kalikhola monitoring station rose above the danger mark at 12.3 metres.

By 6:30 pm, the water level at Devghat had fallen back to about 4 metres. from the moment the earthquake was recorded at 8:37 am till the water began to recede at 6:30 pm, the flood travelled from the Bhotekoshi through the Trishuli to Muglin, Malekhu and Devghat in roughly 10 hours.

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