Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains destroyed 19 houses in separate incidents in Nuwakot district on Friday night.

Floods caused by rain-swollen Amare stream injured a couple in Belkotgadhi. Floods damaged the home of Ramraj Tamang and his wife Shubha Laxmi and swept away all goods and valuables from their shop the couple operated in their house.

Scores of domestic animals and poultry were also killed while paddy planted over many hectares of land perished in the water induced disasters.

Heavy rain, floods and landslides damaged properties worth millions of rupees in several places in the district, police said.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Basanta Bahadur Kunwar said floods damaged properties worth Rs 800,000.

The swollen flooded stream swept two other houses belonging to Haribhakta Tiwari in the same area. A general store, butchery and an eatery suffered extensive damaged in the incident, said SP Kunwar.

Floods swept away more than 50 chickens in a poultry farm around 17km east of Bidur, the district headquarters of Nuwakot.

In Thanabhanjyang, a massive landslide buried three houses in Shivapuri Rural Municipality-7.

According to chief of the rural municipality Ramkrishna Thapa, the landslide destroyed houses of Manoj Tamang, Chandra Bahadur Tamang and Dil Bahadur Tamang. The disaster destroyed household articles, clothes, food grains and buried three goats, Thapa said.

In Alamdanda of Tadi Rural Municipality-6, a landslide swept away three houses. There are no reports of human casualties, but six cattle and 26 goats perished under the rubble.

Rural Municipality Chief Narayan Prasad Pandey said around 30 ropanis cultivable land is full of landslide rubble.

Elsewhere, landslides damaged ten houses in ward No 4 and 5 of Panchakanya Rural Municipality while another such incident flattened a hut in Bidur-2 the same night.

Pasanglhamu Highway and other roads in Bhaise and Devighat blocked by landslide debris disrupted traffic. Hundreds of passengers remain stranded due to the traffic obstruction.

Local authorities are clearing the debris and expect to resume traffic, said police. Vehicular movement along Galchhi-Devighat and Trishuili-Betrawati sections halted for a few hours as landslides at several places blocked traffic.

School building ravaged

BAJHANG: Floods and landslides completely destroyed a recently constructed school building in Talkot Rural Municipality-2 on Friday night. Headmaster Birkharaj Joshi said. “The two-room concrete building of Bishwonath Primary School was completely destroyed in the incident.” The school building costing Rs 1 million was constructed just two months ago. Three families have been displaced as a landslide damaged their houses in Khaptad Chhana Rural Municipality-7 the same night.