KATHMANDU: Thou­sands of panic-stricken villagers fled their homes fearing flash floods after an overnight landslide blocked a river in quake-hit Nepal’s mountainous northwest, officials said on Sunday.

The landslide at around midnight sent mud and rocks tumbling into the Kali Gandaki river in Myagdi district, causing water levels to rise by 150 metres, said local official Yam Bahadur Chokhal.

“We have evacuated about 100 people from the affected area. People in other villages don’t need immediate rescue but thousands have left on their own,” Chokhal said.

As fresh landslides dumped debris into the river during the day, the two-kilometre-long artificial lake created by the blockage began to overflow the newly created dam, home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal said.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2015

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