Authorities
in India have begun evacuating villagers after efforts to clear a landslide in
Nepal sparked fears of flash floods. The landslide early Saturday killed at
least eight people and buried dozens of homes.
The
landslide created a mud dam blocking the Sunkoshi river, which flows into
India's Bihar state as the Kosi. Indian officials say water levels have risen
above the danger mark and authorities fear that water could inundate hundreds
of Bihar's villages as Nepal attempts to clears the debris.
"We
are repeatedly appealing to villagers settled along the Kosi embankments to
flee to safer places as soon as possible," Vysaji, the principal secretary
in Bihar's disaster management department, told reporters late Saturday.
"The blasting of blockage in river could result in a 10-meter (33-foot)
high wall of water sweeping down Kosi into Bihar which could bring
trouble," added Vysaji, who goes only by one name.
Nepal's
army announced that it had started opening the dam by setting off two
controlled blasts and that water had started to drain out slowly. Indian
authorities, taking no chances, have put eight districts under flood alert, and
begun evacuations in the districts of Supaul, Madhubani and Saharsa.
Authorities have also opened sluice gates at a barrage along the Kosi at the
border, deployed rescue teams and sent more than 200 boats to evacuate
villagers.
The
disaster preparations come just days after a landslide killed dozens of people in India.
'We are
looking'
The
landslide hit early Saturday in Nepal, burying two dozen homes before dumping
mud and stones into the river, northeast of the capital, Kathmandu. Officials
have recovered eight bodies from the debris of dozens of collapsed houses so
far, and police have warned that the death toll will likely rise.
At least 40
people were injured, four of them critically. More than 100 people remain
missing, and at least 5,000 have been displaced.
"The
landslide has caused huge damage," Bharat Bahadur Bohara, a police officer,
told the news agency Reuters. "We cannot make any estimates of the number
of deaths now. We are looking for other people who might be trapped."
Nepalese
authorities have also asked residents in downstream villages to evacuate as the
mud dam could collapse at any time.
mkg/hc (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)
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