Nepal Floods: Tinau River Sweeps Away Homes In Butwal As Narayani Crosses Danger Mark

Days of relentless rain across Nepal have triggered a fresh round of flooding and landslides, sweeping away homes in Butwal and pushing several major rivers past their danger marks, even as hundreds of families displaced by earlier flooding over the weekend remain in temporary shelters.

Tinau River Destroys Homes In Butwal

In Rupandehi district, floodwaters from the Tinau river swept away six houses along the riverbank in Butwal on Saturday night after the river rose above its danger level. Around 200 houses along the riverbank remain at risk. Security personnel evacuated roughly 1,000 people overnight as the Tinau and nearby streams continued to swell amid the ongoing rain, according to local police.

Authorities initially moved close to 500 residents from Majhuwa, a high-risk neighbourhood in Butwal, to a temple that had been converted into a holding centre, before relocating them again to nearby schools considered safer. The district administration has urged everyone living near rivers and streams in the area to stay alert and move to higher ground if water levels rise further.

Narayani And Riu Rivers Cross Danger Levels In Chitwan

Further east in Chitwan, both the Narayani river and the smaller Riu stream crossed their official danger levels in the early hours of Sunday as the rain continued without a break. At the Devghat gauge station, the Narayani reached 9.23 metres shortly after 5 am, well above its 9-metre danger threshold and its 7.3-metre warning level, according to Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.

The rain has also triggered landslides and mudslides at multiple points along the Narayanghat-Muglin road and elsewhere in Chitwan, disrupting traffic in both directions at several locations. Local police said they expected some of the blocked routes to reopen within a couple of hours if crews could clear the debris and no fresh landslides occurred.

Weekend Flooding Already Displaced Hundreds Of Families

Saturday's flooding from the Narayani and Saptakoshi rivers had already inundated 389 houses across Nawalparasi West and Saptari districts, forcing hundreds of families to relocate before the fresh overnight flooding in Butwal and Chitwan added to the toll.

In Nawalparasi's Susta Rural Municipality, 172 families were moved to safety on Friday and Saturday after the Narayani entered the settlement, with as many as 271 houses and animal shelters submerged and water reaching up to three feet inside some homes. Susta, home to around 310 families, sits in a river-locked position bordered by the Narayani to the north and west and by India to the south, meaning residents now have to reach the nearest suspension bridge by boat after the access road was submerged.

In Saptari district, flooding from the Saptakoshi river inundated 217 homes across Tilathi Koiladi and Hanumannagar Kankalini municipalities, with roughly 200 families moved to safety and elderly residents and children relocated to the western embankment of the Koshi river, where the local municipality has been providing food under tarpaulin shelters.

Rising Water Levels Elsewhere In The Country

Rivers further west, in Nepal's Karnali province, have also been rising steadily, though most remained below their warning levels as of Sunday morning. The Thuli Bheri river in Dolpa, the Karnali river at two separate gauge points in Humla, and the Mugu Karnali were all reported to be climbing but had not yet crossed warning thresholds. Landslides have nonetheless disrupted several stretches of the Karnali Highway and the wider Karnali corridor, blocking roads in Mugu, Humla and Kalikot districts.

Nepali authorities across the affected provinces have repeated calls for residents in flood- and landslide-prone areas to stay alert, monitor official river-level updates and move to safety without waiting for water to reach their homes, as the rain showed no clear sign of easing on Sunday.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.