Nepal is grappling with the aftermath of record floods that killed at least 246 people, including 32 children. The late September floods also displaced more than 10,000 households across the nation’s capital, Kathmandu, and surrounding districts, and caused widespread damage to infrastructure.
The unprecedented rainfall on Sept. 28 was the heaviest ever recorded in Kathmandu, according to Nepal’s Hydrology and Meteorology Department.
Rescue teams continue to search for the missing as people work to restore their communities and reestablish essential services. “Across the country, people are busy clearing debris from floods and landslides while major highways remain disrupted,” Manjeet Dhakal, the Kathmandu-based South Asia director at Climate Analytics, told Mongabay in an email.
Torrential monsoon rains of more than 200 millimeters (8 inches) triggered landslides and caused rivers, including the Saptakoshi, Nepal’s largest, to burst their banks at levels not seen in more than 50 years.
Initial assessments of the damage put the cost at 13.4 billion rupees ($100 million).
More than 40 bridges were either fully or partially destroyed. Nearly 100 schools were shut down and 95,000 hectares (235,000 acres) of farmland, an area roughly 10 times the size of Paris, was ruined.
Eleven hydropower plants were severely damaged, raising further concerns over the country’s fragile energy infrastructure and overreliance on hydropower. For Dhakal, this presents an opportunity to invest in energy diversification via other renewable sources.
Nepal is responsible for just 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions but is among the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change impacts.
Roughly 10% of Nepal’s urban population live in informal settlements on riverbanks. They’re often hit the hardest by the floods, many working-class families lose their jobs and belongings in these climate-related events.
More than 1.9 million Nepalese citizens, or 7% of the total population, are considered highly vulnerable to climate change, according to a 2010 assessment.
“Every degree of global warming is projected to cause an exponential increase in extreme daily rainfall,” Dhakal said, raising concerns about the nation’s poor urban planning, which he said likely exacerbated the impact of the floods.
“Nepal must invest in early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, and sustainable urban and rural planning. At the domestic level, political will is essential for both immediate responses and long-term recovery,” he added.
Banner image: The Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal on Sept. 28 following the nation’s heaviest rainfall in over 50 years. Image courtesy of UNICEF Nepal/Laxmi Prasad Ngakhusi.