ABSTRACT
At its peak, the discharge was 2,000 m3/sec, two to four times the magnitude of maximum monsoon flood levels. It destroyed bridges, homes, agricultural land and the nearly completed Namche Small Hydropower Plant, two weeks before its inauguration, which resulted in an estimated loss of US$ 1.5 million and properties of many families, and 3 human lives (Yamada, 1998). Remarkably, only 4-5 people lost their lives in the flood itself because a Sherpa festival was in progress and few people were walking the trails at the time (ICIMOD/UNEP, 2002; Kattelmann, 2003).
