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On 2 August 2014, due to heavy rainfall, a landslide occurred at the Sunkoshi river, killing 156 people and blocking the river to form an artificial lake in Sindhupalchok District, Nepal.[1][2] Araniko Highway, the main (and only) artery of goods and people flow to China, was blocked by the landslide ripping out 5 km of highway, and causing huge traffic jam.
The landslide, which had a volume of 5.5 million cubic metres[3] swept away 2 dozen houses.[4]
This landslide had massive effects far beyond the local area, not evident from the pictures. The dammed river threatened to unleash a torrent of water upon hundreds of downstream villages that would have ravaged as far as Northern India.[5] Despite the use of dynamite, it took the Nepali Army 45 days to dig a canal through the blockage to allow water in the lake to drain.[6] The lake created was 47 meters deep and over 400 meters long.[7] The hasty emergency draining through the lake canal itself caused damage to houses downstream and threatened to take out Lamusanghu Hydropower Dam.[8]
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Following earthquakes in April and May 2015, concern was expressed that the dam might have become unstable leading to a risk of further flooding downstream of the blockage.[9]
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