Cloudburst in Kanchanpur caused Rs 1.5 billion in loss: Administration

Kanchanpur, Aug. 23: The cloudburst occurred in Kanchanpur district on July 7 and caused damages to property worth Rs 1.57 billion, the District Administration Office said.

The Office stated that physical infrastructure, crops, industries, livestock and other properties witnessed severe damage from the cloudburst-triggered flooding. Acting Chief District Officer Parshuram Pokharel said the offices in the district have reported total damages worth Rs 1.57 billion from the flood and inundation caused by the cloudburst.

It is said that the offices in the district assessed the loss and damage. The agriculture sector, the most impacted area by the cloudburst, witnessed more than Rs 654 million in loss. Likewise, the Mahakali Irrigation Management Office said it recorded a loss of Rs 292.2 million while the Road Division Office lost the property of almost Rs 40 million. Similarly, the Infrastructure Development Office recorded Rs 72 million in damage.

Several other offices also reported the loss while private properties were also destroyed in the flood and inundation. Four people were killed in the disasters in the district. A study by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology had termed that phenomenon ‘Terai Cloudburst’ and stated that the downpour was due to the combination of monsoon in the upper, middle, and lower atmosphere in the area and the low-pressure system developed in the Westerly wind.

Plain lands of Kanchanpur were inundated while the swelling of various rivulets caused damages due to the extreme rainfall. Around 85 square kilometers of agricultural land as well as around 14,000 physical structures were affected. —RSS