Northern mountainous VDCs of Gorkha district have started receiving snowfall from Saturday night. The snowfall intensified following rains on Sunday afternoon, locals said.

The epicenter of 2015 April quake—Barpak—among other badly affected areas such as Laprak, and Gumda also received rains along with hailstones, thereby confining the locals to their houses because of cold weather.

A local Khil Bahadur Gurung said that Samagaun, a village bordering with China’s Tibet, has been covered by a layer of one feet of snow.

“People are forced to stay indoors due to snowfall and extreme cold,” said Gurung. “We are unable to do our daily chores and locals are making bonfire to keep warm.” The cold weather has also badly affected the telephone service, he added.

Most of the people living in Samagaun that lies on the foothill of Mt. Manaslu and other high altitude villages have migrated to lower regions to escape the cold.

Meanwhile, the locals are a happier because the snowfall would provide sufficient water to the winter crops.

Dadakada, a village near Barpak, has also received snowfall, said a local Pur Bahadur Ghale. “If the weather doesn’t clear up, it is likely that the village will be covered in snow,” he said.

Last year, the snowfall in this season had covered the temporary shelters of earthquake survivors in Gupsipakha, Laprak. Most of the people in this place have migrated elsewhere as the temporary shelters have been demolished in order to construct integrated settlement. Some people are still living nearby the temporary shelters, a local Raj Gurung said.