Authorities in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttarakhand were put on high alert after a sudden flash flood in neighbouring Nepal swept through mountain valleys, killing dozens of people and leaving nearly 400 tourists, including 105 Indians, missing.
Flash floods in Himalayan rivers, triggered by factors such as earthquakes or GLOFs, are not uncommon. According to an analysis by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in February 2025, at least 1,015 flood events were reported in the higher reaches of the Himalayan region since 1950 across Nepal, India and China. Citing an advisory from India’s Central Water Commission (CWC), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said the deluge was triggered upstream in Nepal’s mountainous Rasuwa district due to a suspected glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF).
In a statement, NDRF said districts in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh near the India–Nepal border along the Gandak river have been advised to remain alert and closely monitor the situation.
In Bihar, the government has ordered the evacuation of people living in low-lying areas in five districts — West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Sapaul and Muzaffarpur — as thousands of cusecs of additional water are expected to flow. A high-level committee comprising the chief secretary and the Director General of Police has been formed to monitor the situation. The Uttar Pradesh government has sounded an alert in Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts bordering Nepal.
At 5pm, the discharge from Valmikinagar barrage was 1.06 lakh cusecs. As a precaution, all 36 gates of the Valmikinagar barrage (designed capacity 8.5 lakh cusecs) were opened in phases, government officials said. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the local administration in the two districts to ensure all necessary preparedness measures saying that water levels in Gandak and Narayani rivers in Maharajganj and Kushinagar may rise due to the flooding in Nepal.
Officials said it may increase to three lakh cusecs by Thursday morning. Bihar chief minister Samrat Choudhary said a close watch was being kept on the Gandak river. “If necessary, I will also visit Valmiki Nagar to assess the situation,” he said in Patna.
West Champaran magistrate Taranjot Singh said all field formations have been activated in wake of rising water levels at Devghat in Nepal, about 80 km from Valmikinagar. At the Devghat gauge site on the Narayani in Nepal, the water level stood at 4.77 metres—well below the warning level of 7.30 metres and the danger mark of nine metres. Discharge at the barrage rose steadily through the day from around 86,000 cusecs in the morning to about 1,44,800 cusecs by 4 pm.
“We are expecting about 300,000 cusecs of water at the Valmikinagar barrage in the next five-six hours,” said Iqbal Anwar, executive engineer at Valmikinagar.
