A landslide about 35 meters high has blocked the Hunga River flowing through Wards No. 2 and 4 of Mahakulung Rural Municipality in Solukhumbu, increasing the risk to downstream areas.
According to police, the landslide has created a water body approximately 100 meters long and 15 meters deep in the river.
Police dispatched a team to the site after receiving information at around 7 a.m. Friday that a landslide had blocked the river.
Koshi Province Police said that settlements and two nearby hydropower projects in the river's downstream areas have been informed about the situation and urged to remain on high alert.
According to police, the landslide has created a dam-like obstruction in the Hunga River.
Water has now begun to drain from the blocked section, according to a police update. However, the situation remains sensitive and the risk persists as water is still flowing over the landslide.
Quoting Deputy Inspector General Shekhar Khanal, chief of Koshi Province Police, Chief Minister Hikmat Karki said that the landslide occurred in Mahakulung Rural Municipality-2, about 100 meters downstream from the Gaurishankar Hydropower head office.
The incident was reported to the Area Police Office in Sotang at around 7 a.m. by employees of Gaurishankar Hydropower. Police said that a team was dispatched to the site immediately after receiving the information.
Police have urged residents living near the river to exercise caution. Workers at the two nearby hydropower projects and vehicles operating there have also been advised to move to safer locations.
Police have called for heightened vigilance, particularly because water is currently flowing over the landslide, which could increase the risk of a sudden release of accumulated water.
A police notice stated: “At present, water is flowing over the landslide.”
For this reason, people living in downstream areas have been urged to remain particularly alert.
The site where the Hunga River has been blocked lies in Mahakulung Rural Municipality-2. According to police, it is approximately 10 kilometers southeast of the Bung Police Post.
The river flows downstream through Sotang Rural Municipality and Thulung Dudhkoshi Rural Municipality. Its waters then flow toward Khotang and Okhaldhunga before joining the Dudhkoshi River.
Police and local authorities have therefore increased their vigilance, warning that if the landslide obstruction suddenly collapses or the river's flow changes abruptly, downstream areas could be affected.
However, police have not yet estimated when the landslide blockage might collapse, how much water has accumulated, or what extent of damage could result. No such projection has been made in the information released so far.
