Fresh landslides, heavy rain kill about 30 in Nepal, strand trekkers

Nepal Faces Renewed Disaster as Rain and Landslides Claim About 30 Lives

Bdbusinessdaily.com – Fresh landslides and relentless rainfall have killed around 30 people in Nepal, deepening the crisis for communities still recovering from August’s devastating floods, which left 1,400 dead and thousands missing.

The latest severe weather has damaged homes, cut transport links and forced trekkers to abandon journeys in the Himalayas. More than 1,900 families have been affected since late last week, while over 240 houses have sustained damage. Roads, bridges and other structures have been swept away or left unusable in several areas.

For residents already displaced by flooding, the new destruction has brought another painful chapter of loss. In Battar, north-west of Kathmandu, families have taken shelter in temporary tents as rain continues to fall.

“We used to live in a hut, but now there is nothing. We have lost so many of our relatives.”

Buti Tamang spoke from a damp blue tent, describing the uncertainty facing people whose homes and relatives have been taken by the disaster.

“Now it is raining and the tent leaks, so we’ve been facing a difficult situation. We have nowhere to go,”

said Ramesh Ghale, another resident forced to flee his home.

Annapurna Trekkers Forced to Turn Back

The weather emergency has also disrupted the Annapurna Circuit, one of Nepal’s best-known trekking routes and an important part of the country’s tourism economy. Hundreds of hikers have shortened their trips or required evacuation as snowfall, mudslides and broken bridges made the route increasingly dangerous.

Helicopters have carried many trekkers out of Manang and Mustang districts. The full circuit can take as long as three weeks, but some groups have spent days trying to descend through damaged terrain rather than continuing toward higher sections of the trail.

Jake Stacy, a 21-year-old visitor from Suffolk, became stranded with his guide in Yak Kharka in upper Manang after heavy snow fell last week. He chose not to continue toward Thorang La pass, the highest point on the circuit.

“We made our own paths on mountain slopes,”

he said after reaching base camp in Pokhara on Tuesday night.

“It was quite steep and we were clambering because there was river below… It was very muddy and very wet.”

Stacy said numerous trekkers had been flown out as conditions deteriorated.

Australian traveller Andrew Graham and his guide, Prem KC, also turned back after reaching Manang village. Their return journey involved crossing more than 15 landslides. Graham said some of the crossings posed serious risks because unstable ground remained after the initial slides.

The pair later found themselves stranded in Chame, where evacuations had been ordered because of further landslide danger. They spent a night in the jungle after being unable to continue safely.

Blocked River Raises Fears in Chame

A major landslide near Chame has partly blocked a river, forming a temporary lake that has flooded houses and a vital bridge. Efforts to drain the accumulated water with excavators have continued for three days, but residents said progress has been limited.

The blockage illustrates how quickly landslides can produce secondary threats. Even where a slope collapse does not directly strike a settlement, debris can obstruct rivers, flood nearby buildings and sever the routes needed for rescue, supplies and evacuation.

Trekking guide Tse Ring Doma said her group had to cross 28 separate landslides during its journey. She described the psychological strain as particularly severe because the group was travelling in the aftermath of August’s catastrophic flooding.

“Even thunder would make us run and come out to see if anything was coming our way,”

she said.

Norwegian trekker Ellen Wahlström, one of Doma’s clients, noted that visitors faced difficult travel decisions but could ultimately leave the region, unlike residents whose homes, land and livelihoods remain at risk. She said landslide clearance work had moved “surprisingly fast” in many places.

Searches Continue Near Himlung Peak

Despite serious damage across Manang, no deaths have been recorded in the main trekking region, chief district officer Mukti Prasad Khanal said. Several bridges have been washed away, and communications have been disrupted in some locations.

Elsewhere near the base of Himlung Peak, close to Nepal’s border with Tibet, rescuers have recovered four bodies after an avalanche. Twelve people remain missing.

Authorities have held back approximately 700 trekkers in Pokhara who were waiting to begin the Annapurna Circuit. The decision reflects concern that opening the route too soon could place visitors, guides and local communities in further danger, even as trekking businesses seek clarity about when normal activity can resume.

Indian pilgrims travelling to the ancient Muktinath temple have also been advised to fly from Jomson to Pokhara rather than drive because a road has been cut off.

In recent years, roads reduced use of many of the circuit’s older footpaths, leaving only shorter traditional sections commonly used in Manang and Mustang. Now, with stretches of the main road network damaged or gone, trekking operators say hikers have been relying on some of those abandoned trails to make their way back.

The renewed emergency underlines the difficult balance facing Nepal’s mountain communities: restoring access and tourism activity while keeping residents, guides and travellers away from terrain that can change rapidly after heavy rain or snowfall.