Surkhet, April 10 -- A storm that hit Karnali Province on Wednesday night has caused widespread power and telecom outages. Strong winds, lightning, and rain brought down trees and power poles, damaging key transmission lines.

The Nepal Electricity Authority's Surkhet office said the Kohalpur-Surkhet 33kV and Kuine Babiyachaur-Birendranagar 33kV transmission lines were affected. Only a section of the powerline up to Ramghat in Surkhet is operational, and teams are working to fix the damage.

Power outages have affected Surkhet, Salyan, Jajarkot, and nearby districts, and it is likely to take time to restore the services as fallen trees and poles need to be cleared, according to officials.

Nepal Telecom also reported service interruptions...