No siren sounded, villagers' phone calls saved lives: early warning system questioned

When a flood carrying debris struck the Budhigandaki river in Gorkha on the morning of Asoj 25, it was not any government mechanism but phone calls from residents upstream that alerted people living downstream.

According to a preliminary analysis by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, a flood from the Ungilung stream in Chumnubri Rural Municipality-6 had blocked the Syar stream, and the Budhigandaki surged when that blockage suddenly burst. Once again, there was no siren to warn riverside settlements.

Questions had already been raised about the effectiveness of the early warning system a month and a half earlier, when sirens failed to sound during the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli flood.

At around 4:30 am, Lopsang Lama of Lokpa felt the ground shake and heard a loud sound from upstream. He called his relatives in Philim and Jagat downstream to warn them to stay alert.

Sherap Gurung, also from Lokpa, likewise phoned friends in Philim, Jagat and Machhikhola, and spread the warning through a livestream.

Around 5 am, the Ungilung stream, which normally carries very little water, suddenly flooded. Because people received word in time, residents along the riverbank were able to reach safe locations.

Aarughat-3 ward chair Tek Bahadur Adhikari said that even without rainfall, the flood has created a situation where residents can no longer sleep soundly at home. He was deployed until evening clearing debris from the road near Soti Bazaar.