Story perspectives

PM Orders Army, Police Flood Rescues as Rivers Swell

8/26/2026

Summary

Story summary

Prime Minister Balendra Shah ordered the army, police and armed forces to conduct flood rescues.
The Bhotekoshi River flooded from the Tibetan side at about 9 am on Wednesday.
Timure and Syabrubesi in Rasuwa district lost villages, a new bridge and customs goods to the waters.
More than ten hydropower projects, including the 111-MW Rasuwagadhi plant, were damaged or halted.

History

Historical Context

In July 2017, unprecedented monsoon floods swelled Nepal’s Bhotekoshi River, breaching dams and submerging dozens of villages across Rasuwa District. The Nepal Army deployed 2,500 troops, the Nepal Police mobilized 1,200 officers, and the International Red Cross delivered $12 million in emergency aid. Today's flood, triggered by upstream glacial melt into the Bhotekoshi, mirrors that 2017 disaster as Balendra Shah orders army, police, and armed forces to rescue residents and protect the 111-MW Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant. The recurrence underscores Nepal’s need for upgraded flood defenses and trans-border water management agreements to avert future infrastructure losses and humanitarian crises.

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Story summary

Prime Minister Balendra Shah ordered the army, police and armed forces to conduct flood rescues.
The Bhotekoshi River flooded from the Tibetan side at about 9 am on Wednesday.
Timure and Syabrubesi in Rasuwa district lost villages, a new bridge and customs goods to the waters.
More than ten hydropower projects, including the 111-MW Rasuwagadhi plant, were damaged or halted.

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