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| Hundreds Along River in Nepal Are Forced to Evacuate After Landslide | Hundreds Along River in Nepal Are Forced to Evacuate After Landslide |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| KATHMANDU, Nepal — Hundreds of residents living along a mountain river in the Myagdi District in western Nepal have been forced to seek higher ground after a massive landslide near the village of Kafaldanda blocked the Kali Gandaki River and created a huge natural dam that could burst. | |
| The landslide rumbled down a narrow gorge about 1 a.m. Sunday and has since created a buildup of water that the district’s chief official, Tek Bahadur K.C., estimated in a telephone interview had reached almost 500 feet high. | The landslide rumbled down a narrow gorge about 1 a.m. Sunday and has since created a buildup of water that the district’s chief official, Tek Bahadur K.C., estimated in a telephone interview had reached almost 500 feet high. |
| The landslide buried 15 homes, but no one was killed. The temporary lake behind the landslide in the mountainous district now stretches almost a mile back, and officials are concerned that a sudden collapse of the natural dam could create a torrent of water that would sweep away everything in its path for miles. | The landslide buried 15 homes, but no one was killed. The temporary lake behind the landslide in the mountainous district now stretches almost a mile back, and officials are concerned that a sudden collapse of the natural dam could create a torrent of water that would sweep away everything in its path for miles. |
| “Now the river is completely blocked, and the water level is increasing,” Mr. K.C. said. | “Now the river is completely blocked, and the water level is increasing,” Mr. K.C. said. |
| The landslide occurred almost a month after Nepal was struck by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake and two weeks after a magnitude 7.3 aftershock that killed almost 8,700 people and injured more than 17,000. | The landslide occurred almost a month after Nepal was struck by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake and two weeks after a magnitude 7.3 aftershock that killed almost 8,700 people and injured more than 17,000. |
| Nepal often suffers such landslides during monsoon season, when torrential rains weaken mountainsides. A major landslide in August last year near Nepal’s border with China killed many and washed out a crucial highway for months. Officials have worried that this year’s season, expected to begin in a few weeks, could be especially bad because the quakes have already weakened many mountainsides. | Nepal often suffers such landslides during monsoon season, when torrential rains weaken mountainsides. A major landslide in August last year near Nepal’s border with China killed many and washed out a crucial highway for months. Officials have worried that this year’s season, expected to begin in a few weeks, could be especially bad because the quakes have already weakened many mountainsides. |