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COVER STORY |
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COVER STORY |
FLOODS Ignored
and undermined, Nepal’s new settlement and infrastructures are vulnerable to the
natural disasters like floods and landslides. Whether in mountain areas or in terai plain
or in Kathmandu, these settlements are the fist victims of any flood during monsoon.
Thanks to the concentrated rainfall, this year’s flood in eastern Nepal has wrecked
havoc killing more than 102 people and destroying infrastructures in eastern parts of the
country. If the flood in small rivers and stream can trigger such destructions, what will
happen in case of flood in Kosi – which is said to be on the brink of causing mother
of all floods - is anybody's guess. Despite being faced with perennial calamities, the
country's disaster management still seems to be merely a short-term relief operation. Are
we prepared for major floods like Kosi? By KESHAB
POUDEL Ram Janam
Mishra, 50, a resident of Gaur, headquarters of Rautahat district, 200 miles south of
capital, has lost everything including two buffaloes, two bulls and some food grains.
The flash flood of Bagmati river washed out his small hut and green rice field. At the
initiative of district administration, Mishra was temporarily rehabilitated near the
government forest but his future remains uncertain. “My entire field was swept away
by the flood. I don’t know how long we have to stay here,” said Mishra.
Like
Mishra, there are thousands of people whose property was washed away by the monsoon
floods and landslides in the first week of July. The government reports show lesser
magnitude of the problem compared to the real situation. The government
compensation is distributed only to those who have political influence. They need to
fulfill certain criteria to become a flood victim. Since the process is complicated and
cumbersome, many victims go unnoticed. And political consideration always dominated as far
as the distribution of relief is concerned. Duryodhan Yadav
of Hanumannagar of Saptari district has another story to tell. Yadav - a poor farmer with
less than an acre of arable land – lost everything as the water of Kosi river turned
towards his land. “I am not
sure when and where the sand will cover my field. After few weeks, all the concerned
people will forget what happened to our villages and green fields,” said Yadav.
"Although some political leaders have promised help, I don’t know what kinds of
support the villagers will get.” Following the
outburst of monsoon rain, many families in the eastern and central regions have lost their
ancestral property and many others have even lost their near and dear ones. Threat
of Kosi Mother
of All Floods Although the
water level at Kosi river crossed the danger mark and the warning sign was sent out to the
residents living nearby, it did not cause much damage this time.
“Our
people in Saptari have sleepless nights and anxious daytimes as soon as the monsoon sets
in. Nobody knows when the mighty Kosi river will sweep away our residents,” said
Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav, former member of House of Representatives and vice president
of Nepal Sadbhavana Party. “Following the warning siren, thousands of people left
their home in search of secure place and for a couple of days Hanumannagar and other
nearby villages were inundated.” Nepalese side
was less affected by the Kosi flood this time compared to the Indian side of Bihar where
tens of thousands of people were rendered homeless. Although India has already constructed
embankments along the Kosi river, this year’s devastation show that it is not enough. “The Kosi
river is now on the verge of shifting to the east far away from its present course. The
peoples of Nepal and India are heading for a natural disaster of an unprecedented
scale,” writes Dr. AB Thapa, a water resources expert (See spotlight, September,
12-18, 2003). "All the past and present studies and the very recent observations
indicate that the Kosi is quickly turning into a hanging river and we are heading for an
unprecedented flood disaster. Such flood disaster would not be just one time event.” Bilateral
Matter The flood
problems of Nepal is a bilateral matter between Nepal and India as people living on both
the sides have to face the wrath of heavy rain and flash floods in the mountains and
plains of Nepal. The heavy rainfall in the mountains of Nepal result in swelling of
streams and rivers downstream and flash floods in Nepalese terai and Indian plains. From major
rivers like Kosi in the east to Gandaki, Karnali and Mahakali river, thousands of
rivers and small streams originate in Nepal and flow to India before converging into the
Ganges carrying tons of debris along with them. In the last
four decades, even the floods of small rivers and streams have terrorized tens of
thousands of people living in both the sides. Thanks to certain interventions, Kosi river
– which is known as the river of sorrow of Bihar shifted from east to west over 120
km in the last 200 years - seems to be tamed for now.
The
recent floods in Bihar show that the river like Kosi, which carries up to 51,000 million
cubic meters of water- cannot be totally tamed by simply constructing embankments on the
two sides of the river. Although India
has already constructed enormous embankments along Nepal-India border to protect their
citizens from flash flood pouring from Nepal, such small interventions, experts argue,
only give short-term benefits to the people living across the border and become cause of
pain to Nepalese farmers. If we are
panic-stricken even by the floods of small rivers, are we prepared to face the Kosi flood
- which, experts argue, is inevitable if no strong intervention is immediately carried
out? Loss of
Disaster With the
population of over 24 million and about 40 percent of them living below the poverty line,
the natural disasters including floods are causing major problems in the country.
According to the World Bank’s Nepal Country Assistance Strategy 2004-2007, with
approximately 85 percent of the total population living in rural areas, poverty is largely
a rural phenomenon in Nepal – a rural poverty incidence of 44 percent compared to
about 23 percent in urban areas. Prepared by the
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) A Global Report on Reducing Disaster Risk A
Challenge Before Development reveals that the preparedness level in Nepal is very
insignificant. In terms of flood, Nepal is very much vulnerable. "Over the last
quarter century, the number of reported natural disasters and their impact on human and
economic development worldwide has been increasing yearly,” the report said.
“Despite
all our efforts, sadly, we are losing valuable lives of the people and basic
infrastructures every year. If we look at the impact of disaster events in the last
twenty years in Nepal, in average, each year 105 people die and properties worth millions
of rupees are destroyed. In the year 2002 alone, floods and landslides claimed the lives
of 441 people and destroyed the properties worth 400 million rupees,” said Ananta Raj
Pandey, Secretary at Ministry of Home. "Nepal, being located in high disaster risk
area, has been exposed to greater threats of disasters all the year round.” About 6000
people have been reported killed and loss of properties worth about 13,500 million rupees
has been estimated in the last ten year period. Nearly 29% of the total annual death of
people and 43% of the total loss of properties from different types of disaster in Nepal
are caused by floods, landslides and avalanches, which are triggered by heavy
precipitation. According to a
study by professor K.B. Thapa and Associate Professor N.R. Khanal on Flood Hazard In Nepal
& Need For Flood Forecasting In Hindukush Himalayan Region, on an average more than
23,000 live stocks and more than 6,700 houses and 4,760 hectares of arable lands have been
damaged by floods, landslides and avalanches between 1983 and 2000. Total loss of
properties is estimated at between the range of 21.2 to 4,904 million rupees with an
average of 749 million rupees per year. Nearly 4
percent of the total gross domestic product at factor cost in 1997/98 was lost from
water-induced disaster. Though there is a high fluctuation in losses, after 1993 these are
quite substantial (Figure 6.). More losses are to be expected in future since there is
increasing encroachment and investment for settlements and other infrastructures in
marginal areas prone to floods and landslides. Furthermore, there are hardly any
precautionary measures for mitigation of these disasters and no early warning systems.
The
government’s relief programs conclude after the distribution of certain amount of
money to death victims, injured persons and other people who lose their homes. The growing
insecurity has worsened the problem. The Maoists killed some policemen who were dispatched
to the disaster-hit areas on rescue operation. In response to
the disaster, the government sent relief materials and evacuated people who lost houses
and properties. Sarlahi, Mahottari, Dhanusha and Sindhuli all the districts of central
terai were badly hurt. Eastern terai districts like Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari,
Siraha and Udayapur also suffered significant losses. According to
the Disaster Relief Section of the Ministry of Home, the floods damaged properties worth
Rs.300 million this year. The ministry has already sanctioned Rs.5.1 million for the
immediate relief. The district
headquarters of Dhanusha, Sarlahi, Mahottari and Rautahat witnessed the accumulation of
water up to four feet level. From government offices to private houses, the floodwater
wrecked havoc. Apart from
damaging the public property, the flood also washed away certain portion of east-west
highway in Hetauda, 150 miles south of capital. For a couple of days, the link to the
capital was disconnected. The government
claims that it has a clear institutional framework with comprehensive mandate to deal with
the issue of disasters in the country. From central to district levels, there are natural
disaster relief committees. According to
the data of the last ten years, in average, each year 105 people died and properties worth
millions rupees were destroyed. In the year 2003, 300 people died and 10,343 families were
affected by the floods.
Human
Settlements Haphazard human
intervention is responsible for growing destructions and losses from floods and
landslides. Because of growing human population, many settlements and towns sprung up
along the riverbanks. The infrastructures like irrigation canals, roads and embankments
disturbed the natural flow of the rivers. From capital
Kathmandu to other places, human intervention is responsible for the floods. Places like
Samakhushi in capital where a small stream often creates problems by outflanking from its
natural course. The flash flood creates similar havoc in different parts of the country.
As the river’s natural course is encroached by the people, river drainage tries to
return to its normal place whenever there is overflow of water. This year's flood, too,
has proved this point. Flood
Control Nepal is known
for its mountainous areas in which unstable natural environments, steep slopes, weak and
fragile geology and heavy monsoon rainfall combine to make the young mountains one of the
most dangerous environments in the world. Normally, the monsoon lasts for 106 days in
Nepal but sometime it lasts a little longer. Flood control
is going to be the major boon as the country is losing properties worth millions of rupees
and precious human lives annually. Nepal’s flood control program will also benefit
India - particularly the population in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh will immensely benefit. India needs
Nepal for flood control as its previous efforts to control it by building embankments
within its border have no longer proved to be adequate safeguard for its citizens. There
needs to be a long term technical study and technicians should be allowed to take the
decisions. Infrastructures
Under threat Nepal’s
infrastructures like road, irrigation canals and hydropower stations are under the threat
of natural landslides and floods. Kathmandu-Mugling and Mugling-Naryangadh portion of road
are only two such examples. East West highway as well as the Tribhuwan Rajpath – the
oldest road link to the capital – are also unsafe. Whether the
highways in mountain or Terai, they are under threat either by flash flood or landslides.
The government has to spend millions of rupees annually to maintain these roads and
highways. The flash flood
of 1993 swept away seven bridges and large portion of roads along Kathmnandu-Mugling and
Rapti river damaged the road in Hetauda, 100 miles south of capital. It took five years to
construct the road and bridges. The landslides
of 2003 had destroyed a large portion of Mugling- Narayangadh section, 80 miles west of
capital. Although the rehabilitation of the road began a year ago, it is yet to be
completed. This year’s flood further damaged the road. Like in the past, the flood
also swept away a portion of the East West highway in Hetauda. Some bridges were damaged
in Sarlahi, Mahottari and Dhanusha districts. ”Indo-Nepal
cooperation on water resources would be in the interest of both the countries. The good
relations already existing between the two countries in the field of water resources
should not be allowed to tarnish by no means,” said Dr. Ananda Bahadur Thapa, a water
resources expert (See Spotlight 22-28 August, 2003. Policy
And Plans In the past few
years, Nepalese policy-makers have been making efforts to study about the water induced
problems in order to analyze the flood problems of Nepal. Experts argue that Nepalese
policy makers have already diagnosed wrong prescription for the problems. The country has
come up with a number of short-term policies and programs in the last few decades but only
a few have tried to analyze the real cause of the problem. Whether the documents prepared
by international organizations or the government, no one seems to be aware about the
extent of the danger the floods pose to Nepal. Although the Kosi flood will be one of the
biggest disaster for Nepal, there is no mention about it in the water resource strategy
report – which has given great emphasis on water induced disaster mitigation. |
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