© Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images As survivors of the Nepal earthquakes struggle with the aftermath, a landslide has caused fears of flash flooding.
Villagers evacuated after landslips block fast-flowing river, with emergency workers hoping to drain water masses before they destroy scores of homes Thousands of people have been told to evacuate their homes in Nepal after massive landslides blocked a river in the west of the country, sparking fears of flash flooding.
Two powerful earthquakes devastated Nepal on 25 April and 12 May, killing nearly 8,700 people and injuring 16,800 others.
Authorities fear tremors could unleash a flash flood that could destroy dozens of villages in the remote Myagdi district, 80 miles (130km) north-west of Kathmandu, the capital.
Emergency workers are hoping to drain the lake created behind the debris now blocking the normally fast-flowing Kali Gandaki river.
Kamal Singh Bam, a spokesman for Nepal police, said at least 123 people had already been evacuated from areas flooded by the newly formed lake. "Luckily they are safe, but the water level has risen covering all the houses up to around a kilometre upstream of the landslide," Bam said.
Nepal's quake-shattered villages: 'there's nothing to stay for now'Sesh Narayan Poudel, a senior bureaucrat, said at least 10 villages had been evacuated overnight. "The water level of Kali Gandaki flowing below the dam is dropping, and that's not a good sign," Poudel said.
Although police and army teams have reached the site, the threat of new tremors has prevented work to drain the lake and ease the pressure on the natural dam. Continuing aftershocks and the effect of the first major earthquake have left many areas in Nepal unstable.
"Once the landslides have stopped, our technical team in the area will assess the situation, and once we get their report we can try and get the water flowing again," Rishiram Sharma, head of the department of hydrology and meterology, said.
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