Heavy Rains Disrupt Highways and Transportation Across Nepal

5th October 2025, Kathmandu

The recent spell of continuous heavy rainfall, which began on Friday night, has severely impacted Nepal’s transportation infrastructure, leading to the closure of several vital national highways.

Heavy Rains Disrupt Highways

The recent spell of continuous heavy rainfall, which began on Friday night, has severely impacted Nepal’s transportation infrastructure, leading to the closure of several vital national highways. This widespread disruption is causing significant difficulties, particularly for the thousands of travelers returning from their Dashain holidays.

Major Highway Closures and Blockages

Multiple major arterial routes connecting different parts of the country, especially those serving as lifelines to and from the Kathmandu Valley, have become impassable. The severity of the rainfall has triggered widespread landslides, flash floods, and road collapses, leading to blanket closures on critical highways. The key highways that have been confirmed as completely blocked include:

• Koshi Highway
• Prithvi Highway (Specifically the Narayangadh–Muglin section)
• BP Highway
• Araniko Highway
• Siddhicharan Lokmarg
• Kulekhani Road
• Pasang Lhamu Highway

On the Prithvi Highway, specifically the Narayangadh–Muglin section in Chitwan District, traffic had been temporarily allowed to resume on a one-way basis following an initial landslide at Tuin Khola. However, due to ongoing safety concerns and the persistence of the adverse weather, authorities have since suspended all vehicular movement in this section until the road can be deemed safe for travel.

Severe Damage to the BP Highway

The BP Highway, which connects the Kathmandu Valley to the eastern regions, has been particularly hard hit, with several previously built temporary diversions completely washed away by the heavy flow of the Roshi River. These diversions were initially constructed to manage traffic after past flooding incidents. The washed-out sections of the BP Highway are specifically located in the Roshi area, and include:

• Chowkidanda (at the Roshi–Namobuddha border)
• Ghumaune (Roshi-7)
• Charsayabeshi Muni (Roshi-8)
• Gimdibeshi, Syaulebazaar Mathi, Narke, and Boksikuna (Roshi-9)
• Dalabeshi (Roshi-11)
• Piple (Roshi-12)

In addition to these washout points, the Buldhunga section, which lies between Piple and Dalabeshi, has also sustained major structural damage, further compromising the integrity of this critical road network.

Relief Efforts and Government Response

In response to the crisis, various government agencies have been mobilized to manage the disaster and assist the affected population.

Rescue and Clearance Operations: Emergency teams have been deployed to the affected highways. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) is working closely with local administrations and security agencies to clear the debris and facilitate the safe relocation of stranded passengers and vehicles. However, the continuous downpour continues to pose a significant challenge to these clearance efforts.

High Alert and Coordination: The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Home Affairs are actively coordinating efforts, issuing continuous updates and weather alerts to ensure the public remains informed and to minimize risks. The timely advance warnings and coordinated response have been credited with helping to minimize casualties and property losses across the country.

Impact on Dashain Travel: The widespread road blockages are creating significant hardship for the massive movement of people returning to the capital and other major cities after the Dashain festival. Thousands of travelers are currently stranded. A silver lining, however, is the government’s decision to extend public holidays through Sunday and Monday. This extension provides a crucial window of temporary relief, allowing citizens to delay their travel plans until the weather stabilizes and road conditions are safely restored.

Safety Advisory for the Public

Authorities, including the Department of Roads and the traffic police, are working tirelessly around the clock to ensure the key routes are reopened as quickly as possible. Despite these efforts, officials have strongly urged the public to heed the safety advisory to avoid all non-essential travel. Commuters are advised to stay put until the weather conditions show marked improvement and the main highways are officially declared clear and safe for vehicular movement. The government’s priority remains the safety of its citizens and the restoration of key infrastructure to normalcy.

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