Hundreds Along River in Nepal Are Forced to Evacuate After Landslide
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Hundreds of residents living along a mountain river in the Myagdi District in western Nepal have been forced to seek higher ground after a massive landslide near the village of Kafaldanda blocked the Kali Gandaki River and created a huge natural dam that could burst.
The landslide rumbled down a narrow gorge about 1 a.m. Sunday and has since created a buildup of water that the district's chief official, Tek Bahadur K.C., estimated in a telephone interview had reached almost 500 feet high.
The landslide buried 15 homes, but no one was killed. The temporary lake behind the landslide in the mountainous district now stretches almost a mile back, and officials are concerned that a sudden collapse of the natural dam could create a torrent of water that would sweep away everything in its path for miles.
"Now the river is completely blocked, and the water level is increasing," Mr. K.C. said.
The landslide occurred almost a month after Nepal was struck by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake and two weeks after a magnitude 7.3 aftershock; almost 8,700 people have died and more than 17,000 have been injured.
Nepal often suffers such landslides during monsoon season, when torrential rains weaken mountainsides. A major landslide in August last year near Nepal's border with China killed many and washed out a crucial highway for months. Officials have worried that this year's season, expected to begin in a few weeks, could be especially bad because the quakes have already weakened many mountainsides.
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