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🇳🇵 Nepal /Disasters & Emergencies

Panel Given Six Weeks to Assess Damage From Bhotekoshi Flood

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Nepal has formed a committee led by National Planning Commission Vice-President Gunakhar Bhatta to prepare a Post Disaster Needs Assessment of the August 26 Bhotekoshi flood.
  • The committee has six weeks to consolidate data on physical, economic and human damage and identify recovery priorities.
  • A preliminary assessment estimates property losses at about Rs400 billion, while the final report will guide a donor conference for reconstruction funding.

Nepal has given a government panel six weeks to determine the full cost of the destruction caused by the August 26 Bhotekoshi flood. The committee, led by National Planning Commission Vice-President Gunakhar Bhatta, will prepare a Post Disaster Needs Assessment, or PDNA, to officially establish the disaster’s losses and damage.

The report will bring together information on the flood’s physical effects, the economic value of damage and losses, the impact on affected people, and the early and long-term recovery needs. The government plans to use the assessment to organise a donor conference seeking funds for reconstruction, rehabilitation and rebuilding private and public property and infrastructure.

We have already started groundwork for preparing the report, having been entrusted to complete the report within six weeks.

· Gunakhar BhattaThe committee chair described the timetable for completing the disaster assessment.

“We have already started groundwork for preparing the report, having been entrusted to complete the report within six weeks,” Bhatta told the Post. He said seven clusters were analysing data from the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, or RDNA. The clusters cover infrastructure, health and education, climate change, production, agriculture and broader economic sectors.

By creating seven clusters, we are analysing the data from the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment.

· Gunakhar BhattaBhatta explained how the committee is organising its review of the flood damage.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority prepared the RDNA with support from the National Planning Commission. Its initial estimate puts property losses at around Rs400 billion, although the final PDNA could vary from that figure by 20 to 30 percent. The RDNA says early recovery should take place within six months and will require Rs8 billion.

A partial government assessment says about 7,570 houses were damaged, affecting around 32,933 people. It also lists damage to 48 government offices, 55 kilometres of roads, 37 motorable bridges and 68 suspension bridges. Flooding affected about 1,806 hectares of agricultural land, 13 hydropower projects, one solar plant and two transmission lines, reducing affected hydropower generation capacity by 783 megawatts. Private-sector damage has been reported mainly in houses, banks and hotels.

We are updating data to release the RDNA.

· Arjun BhandariThe official overseeing the rapid assessment said its data was being finalised.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathmandu Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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