Mustang, 10 Jul: A preliminary assessment has begun to evaluate the damage caused by the unexpected flooding in Upper Mustang. On Wednesday, a joint team conducted an inspection to verify the extent of the destruction. The team included Lomanthang Rural Municipality Chairperson Tashi Narbu Gurung, Vice-Chairperson Chhumi Bisht, Chief Administrative Officer Bikash KC, the municipality’s technical team, ward chairpersons and members from all five wards, along with security personnel from Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force.
Chief Administrative Officer KC informed that the flood damaged a total of seven bridges along the branch road of the rural municipality, including three concrete bridges. He estimated the loss to be over 15 million rupees.
According to KC, on Tuesday evening, a flood in the Chuama River located in Chumjung, Ward No. 4 of Lomanthang, completely destroyed the concrete bridge connecting Arka and Bharsa, along with two other motorable concrete bridges, one iron bridge, and three wooden bridges. While the bridges and roads were severely affected, there were no reported casualties or losses of livestock.
Chairperson Gurung stated that both permanent and temporary bridges connecting the ring road and other branch roads within Lomanthang Rural Municipality were damaged. As a result, vehicular movement along the ring road has been halted due to the destruction of the bridges.
The sudden flood in the Chuama River, near Chumjung village in Ward No. 4 of Upper Mustang’s Lomanthang, is suspected to have been caused by the bursting of a glacial lake. Gurung noted that the flood occurred despite Mustang being a Himalayan district known for receiving little to no rainfall.
“We inquired with locals about the weather conditions in the area and upstream when the flood occurred. They reported that there had been no rainfall,” said Gurung. “This sudden flood likely has a single cause — the outburst of a glacial lake.”
Armed Police Inspector Bishnuhari Thapa from the Armed Police Force Border Outpost (BOP) in Nechung, located in Chhoser of Lomanthang-2, informed that a team dispatched to investigate the cause of the flood has returned from Chumjung. He stated that individuals collecting yarsagumba in the area had reported the presence of glacial lakes near the source of the Chuama River in Chumjung.
“We suspect that the primary cause of the flood was the bursting of a glacier or glacial lake. So far, there have been no reports of rainfall at the source when the flood occurred,” he said.
Lopasang Chhomphel Bisht, Chairperson of the nearby Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality, stated that dozens of glacial lakes exist at the source of branch rivers in Upper Mustang. He pointed out that due to climate change and rising ground temperatures, chunks of ice from the mountains in the highlands may break off and damage glaciers, increasing the risk of such outbursts.
