WILDERNESS STORM: Another wave of heavy rain and landslides has struck the Himalayan nation, killing roughly 30 people in the last week alone and turning the already‑devastated region of Manang and Mustang into a maze of fallen bridges and slippery slopes.
The National Disaster Management Authority says that since the end of last month more than 1,900 families have been affected and over 240 dwellings have suffered serious damage, with entire roads and river crossings swept away.
Trekkers on the world‑known Annapurna Circuit are fleeing the danger. Hundreds were forced to abandon a three‑week journey when the highest passes collapsed, and many were brought down to safety by helicopter from the districts of Manang and Mustang, where roads were blocked by the new slides.
“We used to live in a hut, but now there is nothing,” says Buti Tamang from a blue emergency tent in Battar, north of Kathmandu. “We have lost many relatives.” Ramesh Ghale, another displaced resident, points out the leaky tents and the absence of shelter.
Guides recount the treacherous descent: Jake Stacy of Suffolk, stranded with his guide at Yak Kharka, travelled back through muddy, snow‑covered slopes while building emergency paths on the mountain faces. “It was very steep and wet,” he says.
Others crossed dozens of landslides on the return route. Australian Andrew Graham and his Nepalese guide, Prem KC, spent a night in a jungle clearing after the village of Chame was evacuated. They described a temporary lake that had inundated houses and bridges, efforts to pump water with excavators failing for days.
According to a local trekking authority, roughly 700 trekkers remain waiting in Pokhara with no open routes. Officials have gated off many of the old paths, but some still linger, fearing that another slide could shut everything down again.
