National
64 homes in Khimti still at risk of flood, landslide
As many as 64 families in Khimti, Ramechhap, are still at risk of floods and landslides, officials said. Two weeks ago, a flood at Chhatiwane stream, had swept away five houses and killed five people in Khimti.Tika Prasad Bhatta
As many as 64 families in Khimti, Ramechhap, are still at risk of floods and landslides, officials said. Two weeks ago, a flood at Chhatiwane stream, had swept away five houses and killed five people in Khimti.
Sureshraj Giri, engineer at the Urban Development and Building Construction Division Office, who led a damage and safety assessment in Khimti after the disaster, said almost all houses in the area were in danger.
“There has been a continuous rainfall in the area, causing erosion and slope failure,” he said. “There are also several landslides occurring on the hillsides of Jamune, Sarkitol, Kole, Thamdanda, Kalimati, Gairi, Kerurini, Sibalaya, Phalate, Jyamir and Dharapani. They all pose threat to the families living in Khimti.”
Kanchha Sarki, a local man, said his family was displaced because of a landslide threat to his house.
“My family has been living in a makeshift shelter after the flood. As rainfall has
not stopped we cannot move back to the house. The recent flooding has raised the risk of landslide that could destroy my house,” he said.
Uttam Budhathoki, another local, said the Chhatiwane stream was continuously eroding the land close to the settlement, posing a double threat of flood as well as landslide.
“We have no hope of our lives returning to the ways they were before,” he said.