MYAGDI: A team of geologists began a field study of landslide-affected areas in Myagdi district from Saturday.
The team led by Bhaskar Khatiwada, president of the Nepal Geological Society, and coordinated by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), initiated a detailed on-site assessment of the landslide-prone zones. Mayor of Beni Municipality, Surat KC, shared that the team on their first day of field study conducted technical assessments at the landslide-hit zones of Khareni Kholsa, Khoriya Pakho and the area above Campus Chowk.
These sites pose a threat to the safety of Beni Bazaar, according to mayor K.C. The team had arrived in Beni on Friday at the recommendation of the Municipality and the District Disaster Management Committee. There is a plan to conduct technical assessments of all high-risk areas within the Municipality and the district, including Beni Bazaar, he added. The mayor pledged to implement both the short-term and long-term mitigation measures in the landslide-hit areas as recommended by the study team.
Geologist and Assistant Professor at Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Champak Babu Silwal, said that apart from capturing drone imagery to assess the landslide conditions and soil composition, they would be carrying out scientific study using rock and soil samples collected from the site.
Silwal asserted, “We have launched a study of the landslide-affected areas through field inspections and the use of various methods and equipment.” They have formed three groups, comprising four experts from Kathmandu, local-level technicians and local personnel with backgrounds in geology to carry out the study.
Upon the study and analyes of the collected samples, the team of geologists is expected to submit a technical report to the government. It may be noted that landslides and floods triggered by last week’s incessant rainfall have resulted in seven deaths and two persons gone missing in Myagdi district.
Likewise, over 200 houses and sheds were destroyed and residents from dozens of villages displaced. Assistant chief district officer of Myagdi, Kul Prasad Acharya, reported that as many as 111 houses were destroyed, 93 partially damaged and 342 at high-risk due to rain-induced landslide and flooding.
He noted that these figures could still go up. (RSS)
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