Nepal Estimates $4.78 Billion Needed to Rebuild After Natural Disasters
Nepal estimates the reconstruction bill after deadly floods triggered by a glacial mountain collapse on August 26 will total $4.78 billion, with the government planning to highlight climate change impacts at the upcoming UN General Assembly amid repeated natural disasters. The August 26 catastrophe, a tsunami-like flood that began on the China-Nepal border, killed more than 1,400 people and left some 5,600 missing. [2]
Disaster Overview and Human Toll
The August 26 flood killed more than 1,400 people, left around 5,600 missing including about 800 foreigners, and prompted a shift from search-and-rescue to relief and recovery operations. [2] The combined toll is 1,428 people dead and more than 5,649 missing, including around 800 foreigners, among them tourists and pilgrims. [2] Rescuers in Nepal have retrieved 1,385 bodies, while around 5,130 people are missing, according to the disaster agency on Friday. [2] In China, the toll is 43 dead and 519 missing, according to state media. [2] Nine South Koreans remain missing more than two weeks after devastating floods and landslides struck the country. [4] The nine — six employees of Doosan Enerbility and three of Korea South-East Power — went missing on Aug. 26 while working at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant construction site in Rasuwa District near the Nepal-Tibet border. [4] Anirban Battacharyya, who has lived in the UK for more than 60 years, has been missing since 26 August. [3] Battacharyya was travelling between Kolkata in India and Nepal's capital Kathmandu when he was lost in the flooding and has not been heard from since. [3] The United Nations, which has launched a $50 million appeal to help more than 84,000 people, has said that “operations are shifting from search and rescue to relief and recovery, though rescues continue”. [2]
Reconstruction Cost Estimates
Of the $4.78 billion needed, $57.67 million is for short-term reconstruction and recovery over the next six months while $4.71 billion is for longer-term work. [2] “The total estimated requirement for reconstruction is approximately $4.78 billion,” Nepali foreign ministry spokesman Lok Bahadur Chhetri told reporters. [2] “Of this, approximately $57.67 million is estimated to be required for short-term reconstruction and recovery over the next six months, while approximately $4.71 billion is required for longer-term reconstruction.” [2] A UN preliminary assessment estimated building damage at $158 million, with total losses including roads, bridges, agricultural land and humanitarian costs expected to be far higher. [2] “Given the scale and extent of the damage, the government is also undertaking a comprehensive post-disaster needs assessment to determine the full extent of loss and damage and the requirement for recovery, rebuilding and reconstruction,” Chhetri said. [2]
South Korean disaster relief team assists Nepal flood recovery efforts. — Source: yonhap
Government Response and International Appeal
Prime Minister Balendra Shah has vowed to “strongly raise” with the international community the disasters that Nepal has experienced as a result of climate change. [2] Shah will take his first foreign trip as leader to address the UN General Assembly on the urgent issue later this month, the foreign ministry said. [2] Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai told reporters on Friday that Shah will address the UN to “draw the attention of the international community to the repeated loss of life and property Nepal has had to face, due to climate change and disasters created by it”. [2] Nepal’s leaders say the Himalayan country needs long-term international support to adapt to a rapidly changing mountain environment. [2] While the exact cause of the glacial collapse is unclear, climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters. [2] Scientists say glaciers in the Himalayas, the world’s highest mountain range, are melting faster as global temperatures rise. [2] Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people, contributes a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions compared to industrialised nations. [2]
Ongoing Search Efforts and Challenges
Rescuers continue limited searches in difficult terrain including swamped hydropower tunnels, with 1,385 bodies retrieved in Nepal and 43 dead in China. [2] Nepal rescuers are still excavating hydropower tunnels swamped by freezing mud, with hundreds of workers among the missing. [2] Three people were rescued from deep inside tunnels days after the disaster, but there has been no confirmation of further survivors since a Chinese man was pulled out alive nearly a week ago. [2] A government joint rapid response team that was dispatched to Nepal shortly after the floods will be reorganized into a seven-member team to support recovery and other efforts, the ministry said. [5] The team includes police and forensic officials, who will work with their Nepalese counterparts at a forensic science laboratory to assist in identifying victims, among other duties. [5] Large-scale search operations had become increasingly difficult due to the mountainous terrain, weather-related risks and concerns over infectious diseases. [4] “Despite the difficulties, we will continue search-and-rescue efforts,” the official said. [4]
International Relief Contributions
South Korea dispatched a second eight-member disaster relief team focused on reconstruction, carrying 4 tons of supplies worth $134,000, as nine South Korean nationals remain missing from a hydropower project. [4] South Korea sent a second disaster relief team to Nepal on Friday, carrying about 4 tons of humanitarian supplies. [4] The eight-member Korea Disaster Relief Team departed from Gimhae Airport at 2:55 a.m. aboard an Air Force KC-330 military transport aircraft and was scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu at around 9 a.m., according to the Foreign Ministry. [4] The team comprises two officials each from the Foreign Ministry, the National Fire Agency and the Korea International Cooperation Agency, as well as two medical personnel. [4] It will remain in Nepal for seven days. [4] The aircraft carried about 4 tons of relief supplies worth 180 million won ($134,000), including blankets, winter clothing and tents donated by South Korean companies through nongovernmental organizations. [4] The first 44-member KDRT contingent, dispatched to Nepal on Sept. 2 for a 10-day search-and-rescue mission, is scheduled to return home on Saturday morning. [5] The 44-member team, including 37 firefighters, had conducted searches using drones, helicopters and other equipment in areas hit by the disaster. [4] The team will focus on reconstruction and recovery efforts during its seven-day mission, the ministry said. [5]
Case of Missing UK Resident
An MP has accused the government of failing to help one of his constituents who has been missing since a deadly flood struck Nepal last month. [3] Ashington and Blyth MP Ian Lavery told parliament the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has refused to directly assist in the hunt for Newbiggin-by-the-Sea resident Anirban Battacharyya who, despite living in the UK for 60 years, maintains Indian citizenship. [3] Lavery asked for urgent talks on how the government "can be more helpful to people who have lived in this country all their lives" but don't have citizenship. [3] The government said it was "in contact" with Indian authorities regarding "relief efforts". [3] On Thursday, Lavery said: "The FCO have been less than helpful, pointing the family to the Indian Consulate who again have been less than helpful. Because he hasn't got a British passport, we can't help him?" [3] Responding for the government, the Leader of the Commons and Tynemouth MP Alan Campbell said he would see if the relevant minister will meet Lavery to discuss the case. [3] Campbell said: "We are working with authorities on the ground to support efforts in this terrible situation, supporting survivors of all nationalities and working to get families information about missing loved ones. We're also in contact with the Indian authorities about the relief efforts. I am disappointed that this hasn't led to the outcome that my honourable friend seeks." [3]
What to watch next: Prime Minister Balendra Shah will address the UN General Assembly later this month to draw attention to the repeated loss of life and property Nepal has had to face due to climate change and disasters created by it, while search efforts for the missing continue alongside recovery operations.
