Rescue operations are continuing at hydropower projects in Nepal following severe flooding along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors, with specialist teams from India, China and South Korea supporting efforts to reach people trapped in tunnels.
Nepal’s Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has issued a series of updates on the rescue and restoration effort following the 26 August floods, which caused extensive damage to hydropower projects, electricity infrastructure and communities in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and surrounding districts.
In its latest updates, the Ministry said work was continuing to rescue people trapped in tunnels at affected hydropower facilities, alongside efforts to restore electricity supplies and coordinate relief for affected communities.
Particular attention has focused on the 60MW Upper Trishuli-3A hydropower project, where people are believed to be trapped in underground facilities following the flooding.
The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said rescue work at the project has involved efforts to gain access to the tunnel through debris and obstructions, while technical teams have been deployed to assess conditions underground.
The Ministry has also been coordinating with the Nepal Electricity Authority and other government agencies on rescue operations and the restoration of power infrastructure across the affected region.
Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on 31 August that specialised international tunnel rescue teams were working alongside Nepali authorities.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an 11-member Indian specialist team and a nine-member Chinese team had been deployed for tunnel rescue operations. The Indian team was working in coordination with Nepali authorities in the Mailung and Chilime area, while the Chinese team was supporting operations at Upper Trishuli-3A. A specialist team from South Korea had also been mobilised.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a day earlier that the international tunnel rescue specialists had been mobilised in coordination with the Nepali Army specifically to assist in rescuing people trapped in tunnels.
Around 19,000 security personnel and 16 helicopters had also been mobilised in affected areas by 30 August, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The scale of the damage has complicated both rescue and electricity restoration work. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said damage had been recorded to critical infrastructure including hydropower facilities, roads, bridges and homes, and that a detailed assessment of recovery and reconstruction requirements would be needed.
Nepal’s Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has meanwhile issued separate updates covering rescue, relief and the restoration of electricity supplies at affected hydropower and transmission facilities, as well as work to restore power services in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading.
The Ministry said it had also taken additional measures to strengthen coordination of rescue and restoration work at affected electricity projects.
Wider flood disaster
The hydropower rescue operations form part of a much wider emergency across Nepal following the 26 August floods.
In its latest official briefing on 31 August, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 903 bodies had been recovered and around 4200 people remained unaccounted for. More than 10,000 people had been rescued, including more than 323 foreign nationals.
The Ministry stressed that casualty and missing-person figures were continuing to change as search operations and verification work progressed and called on national and international media to rely on officially verified information.
The World Health Organization said the floods have affected communities along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors, including Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Chitwan districts in Bagmati Province and Gorkha and Tanahun districts in Gandaki Province.
According to WHO, the Government of Nepal has declared 15 municipalities in the affected districts as disaster crisis-affected areas for three months, while around 10,000 households are reported to require immediate relief.
WHO said homes, markets, roads, bridges, customs facilities and hydropower infrastructure have been damaged, while health services have also been disrupted.
The cause of the disaster has not yet been fully established. Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on 29 August that the cause of the Bhote Koshi flooding had not been fully determined.
WHO said preliminary information indicates that flooding in Rasuwa followed a sudden surge of water into the Bhote Koshi River from the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, possibly associated with an upstream ice avalanche and temporary damming of the Lhende River. WHO said assessments were continuing.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority has also identified a continuing upstream risk. In an update issued on 27 August, the authority said analysis of Planet Labs and Landsat satellite imagery indicated that the flow of the Lhende River had been obstructed around 18km upstream of the Rasuwagadhi border point, creating a lake covering approximately 0.11km2.
The authority warned that failure of the lake’s natural dam could result in another major flood and urged people in downstream areas to remain on high alert.
Search, rescue and relief operations are continuing, with the Nepalese government coordinating assistance from neighbouring countries and the wider international community.
