Flooding Submerges Jaleshwor as Land Cracks Threaten Makawanpur
Breaches along the Ratu river submerged district headquarters Jaleshwor and wrecked ripening paddy crops in Mahottari, while land subsidence in Makawanpur destroyed eight homes and threatened dozens more.
Disaster incidents across central and southern Nepal have triggered flooding and structural damage, submerging parts of Mahottari district's headquarters and displacing families in Makawanpur.
In Mahottari, district headquarters Jaleshwor was heavily inundated after the swollen Ratu river breached embankments in three separate locations, according to reports by Onlinekhabar, Nagarik News, and Gorkhapatra. The embankment ruptured near Banchauri in Balawa Municipality, as well as along Gorigama and Madai in Mahottari Rural Municipality. Floodwaters that started escaping through the breached dykes began entering Jaleshwor, leaving key commercial hubs underwater, including the stretch between Municipality Chowk and the Hatia market in Ward 1.
The rising waters disrupted vehicular movement and pedestrian transit throughout the town, resident Binod Paswan told local media. Beyond urban inundation, the flooding washed through standing agricultural fields just as seasonal paddy crops were maturing. Farmers reported heavy losses, with Mahottari Rural Municipality Ward 6 resident Bhola Mahato noting that the floodwaters flattened unharvested rice plants. According to coverage across all three outlets, paddy fields across Ratabara, Madai, and Gorigama in Mahottari Rural Municipality, along with Chhotka Ratabara, Bajarahi, and Dhavoli in Jaleshwor Municipality, suffered extensive crop destruction.
Mahottari Chief District Officer Indradev Yadav stated that local authorities moved quickly to initiate repairs at the breached sections of the dam while creating drainage outlets at the lower edge of Jaleshwor to flush floodwaters out of the town.
Ground fissures rattle Makawanpur
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Bagmati Province, land instability has triggered distress in Makawanpur district. Ratopati reported that an administrative team led by Chief District Officer Basanta Adhikari conducted an on-site inspection of Jyamire in Bakaiya Rural Municipality-6 following severe land fracturing and subsidence that began in late September.
In the affected area, the ground has dropped by as much as 12 feet (around 3.6 metres), accompanied by wide cracks and tilting utility poles. Bakaiya Rural Municipality Vice-Chairperson Bhakta Bahadur Khatri confirmed that soil erosion and earth fissures completely destroyed eight houses and affected roughly 80 households in Jyamire.
Adhikari instructed local municipal representatives to prioritise resident safety and relocate affected families to secure ground. He added that the district administration alerted both the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, noting that technical experts will guide subsequent mitigation steps.