Homes and bridges were swept away in central Nepal and a hydropower station was damaged Sunday after a major river flooded, according to officials.

A debris-laden flash flood swept away more than a dozen houses and bridges along the Budhi Gandaki River in Nepal, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. Photo by National Trust for Nature Conservation-Manaslu Conservation/EPA UPI

Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Homes and bridges were swept away in central Nepal and a hydropower station was damaged Sunday after a major river flooded, according to officials.

Nepal's army said around 50 people were rescued along the Budhi Gandaki River in the central Gorkha district. No casualties were announced, but five people were reported missing.

Nepal had been on high alert and recovering from catastrophic flooding that hit towns along the border with Tibet in August, killing more than 1,400 people and thousands still missing.

The flood Sunday hit as communities prepared for the Dashain festival, a major event on the Nepali calendar.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said about a dozen homes and several suspension bridges were swept away, while a hydroelectric project was damaged and some construction equipment was carried away.

The cause of the latest flood is unclear, with some experts saying a landslide could have blocked the river or its tributary, causing the damned water to burst out. Others said locals upstream reported an ice-avalanche.

The Budhi Gandaki is a tributary of the Trishuli River, which is downstream from another tributary, which is where a glacier collapse led to the disaster two months ago.