Update: Over 300 rescued in Budhigandaki flood as road, bridge repairs intensify

Rescue, relief and road repair work has intensified after a flood struck the Budhigandaki River in Gorkha on Sunday. The flood occurred after a landslide on Siringi Himal blocked the Uinguling stream.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, 314 people, including 19 foreign nationals, have been rescued so far. A total of 703 security personnel have been mobilized under the coordination of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

Three Nepal Army helicopters have been airlifting stranded people from where they were stuck since Sunday, Chief District Officer Dharmendra Kumar Mishra said. The helicopters have also been delivering relief materials, including tarpaulins, food, solar panels, generators and clothing, to the affected areas.

The flood has damaged more than 200 houses, drinking water systems, a under-construction hydropower project, schools and the Manaslu trekking route in Gorkha and Dhading. Bridges on the main road connecting Gorkha and Dhading have also been damaged.

Materials have been brought from Hetauda to install a Bailey bridge at the crossing connecting Arughat and Salyantar, and the Nepal Army has begun the work. At Chheparebhir on the Arughat-Machhikhola road, which was buried by debris, two machines have been deployed, along with one at Soti, said Binod Pun, chief of the Gorkha Road Division Office. According to him, the road is likely to reopen by Tuesday.

The government has set a target of reopening all blocked roads before Dashain.