Kathmandu [Nepal], September 2 (ANI): Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah told Parliament on Wednesday that the catastrophic Bhotekoshi River flood of August 26, which has left nearly 4,000 people missing, stands as a stark warning of escalating climate risks in the Himalayan region and called on the international community to share responsibility for mitigating its impacts.
In a detailed address to the House, the prime minister said experts have identified the disaster- one of the largest in the region- as resulting from an avalanche of snow and rock in the high Himalayas.
"This is a serious signal that, alongside climate change, the risks we must bear in the Himalayan region are increasing. We must be aware of this, and the time has also come for us to present, forcefully, before the international community, the disasters we are suffering because of climate change. Climate change is a product of the whole world's contribution; mitigating and managing its effects is the shared responsibility of the global community," Prime Minister Shah said.
The flood struck riverside settlements in Rasuwa district on the morning of August 26 (Bhadra 10, 2083), rapidly affecting neighbouring areas including Nuwakot and Dhading.
As of the latest figures presented to Parliament, 11,993 people have been rescued, 3,916 remain out of contact, and 1,114 bodies have been recovered, of which 95 have been identified and handed over to families. Of 292 injured people admitted to hospitals, 182 have been discharged.
Government forces mounted an intensive response from the first hours of the disaster. Security personnel from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force were mobilised in large numbers, peaking at more than 13,000. Helicopter sorties prioritised the critically injured, pregnant women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Temporary shelters now house 2,653 people at 19 sites in Nuwakot.
Infrastructure losses underscore the scale of the event. Eight operating hydropower projects (281 MW) and four under construction (388 MW) were damaged, disrupting 431.1 MW of generation capacity. Major sections of the Galchhi-Betrawati-Rasuwagadhi road and the Prithvi Highway were destroyed or heavily damaged, along with 48 suspension bridges and 31 motorable bridges. Telecommunications have been restored to 95 per cent of the affected area, while electricity restoration varies by district.
The Prime Minister noted that Nepal has already received messages of goodwill and material assistance from multiple countries and multilateral partners, including India, China, the United States, Japan, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations.
The government has declared 15 local levels disaster crisis-hit for three months, released funds from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund (which has collected more than NPR 7 billion plus additional foreign contributions), and begun both immediate relief and longer-term recovery work, including road reconnection and bridge replacement.
While search efforts for the missing continue and unidentified bodies are being managed scientifically with DNA samples preserved, the prime minister's remarks placed the human and economic toll within a larger narrative of rising Himalayan vulnerability linked to global climate change. (ANI)
Nepal PM links deadly Bhotekoshi flood to climate change, urges global responsibility
