Nepal, Oct. 20 -- Reeling from last year's deadly debris flows at Simaltal and Jhyaple khola that killed nearly a hundred people, and heeding the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM)'s forecast of heavy rain for October 3 through 6 earlier this month, the government took stringent precautionary measures ahead of time. Major highways were shut down, and a two-day public holiday was declared to avert risks to travellers. A prelude to what might happen with heavy rain had already been witnessed near Muglin, where a landslide at Tuin Khola blocked the highway for 45 hours and a subsequent 53 hours within the span of five days (September 19-23), affecting thousands of people travelling home for the Dashain festivities. As predicted, t...