Mining scrapping: How Nepal is coping with the effects of devastating floods
The flash flooding on the Nepal-China border has already caused hundreds of casualties and billions in economic losses. The authorities have now mobilized all forces to search for missing people, including several Russians. The disaster has become a test of strength for the new government: if it does not cope with the consequences, mass protests will begin in the country, experts warn. What caused the disaster and what is happening in Nepal now is in the Izvestia article.
The number of victims is growing
On the morning of August 26, the picturesque gorge of the Bhote Koshi River on the border of Nepal and China turned into a zone of total destruction. The sudden descent of a powerful mudflow and flooding in a matter of minutes washed away automobile bridges, sections of high-altitude highways, hydroelectric power plants and entire coastal settlements. This led to human casualties and massive displacement of people, the Nepalese Embassy in Russia told Izvestia. According to local TV channels, the disaster also threatens neighboring India, where evacuation has already begun.
The cause of the disaster, according to the first estimates of seismologists, was a glacial avalanche in the highlands. Masses of ice and rocks collapsed into the riverbed, forming a natural dam. Its breakthrough caused a giant wave of water, mud and multi-ton boulders. The first minutes of the disaster took people by surprise. Eyewitnesses describe what happened as a real hell.
"There was a risk of staying there overnight, the water was rising rapidly, panic began, the bridges were simply washed away before our eyes," said one of the local guides, describing the emergency evacuation of the group from the mountain route.
According to her, the elements acted with superhuman speed: road streamers turned into swirling streams in minutes, and the only way to survive was to escape to higher ground.
More than 350 people became victims of the disaster.. As a result of mudslides and floods on the border of Nepal and China About 1.5 thousand people are missing. Of these, more than 800 people disappeared on Nepalese territory, and about 600 from the Chinese side. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to China and Nepal.
Among the missing are citizens of 28 countries, including five Russians, the media reported, citing Nepali sources. However, according to the latest information from the Russian Embassy in Kathmandu Eight Russian citizens are out of touch in the disaster zone. Diplomats verify the data in cooperation with the Nepalese authorities. According to the latest information, 31 people were rescued, including two Russians, the Nepal Tourism Authority reports.
"At this stage, our priority is to save lives and support search and rescue, evacuation and humanitarian efforts in the affected areas," the Nepalese Embassy said.
Emergency services, rescuers, local authorities and doctors are fully mobilized. Due to the threat of new floods, experts monitor the water level in the rivers downstream around the clock.
Economic losses for Nepal
The disaster has dealt an irreparable blow to Nepal's economy. It has disabled the main transport and trade corridor connecting the country with China. According to the latest data, nine hydroelectric power plants have already been destroyed, 19 automobile bridges have been washed away, more than 40 km of roads and 80 bridges have been damaged. The country's Infrastructure minister, Sunil Lamsal, estimated the preliminary damage at $1.3 billion.
— Roads and bridges have been destroyed, and hydropower facilities have been damaged. This affects energy security and logistics, as well as negatively affects the overall economic situation. Unplanned investments will be required to restore housing, infrastructure and support the victims," Denis Korablin, head of the Interdepartmental Center for Himalayan Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.
According to him, in the north of the country, there is a high probability of repeated micro-landslides and rockfalls due to the erosion of gorges. The consequences are compounded by the fact that Nepal has faced the elements at a difficult time for the economy. As Elza Shirgazina, a junior researcher at the E.M. Primakov IMEMO Center for the Indian Ocean Region of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained to Izvestia, instability in the Middle East had previously provoked an increase in prices for imported fuel and food, disrupted labor migration, and also led to a decline in the tourist flow during the peak spring season.
According to her estimates, the flood damage is already in the billions of dollars. Obviously, Nepal's budget deficit will not be enough resources, so Kathmandu will have to seek additional support from international financial institutions and key partners — Beijing and New Delhi.
The cataclysm also became a serious political test for the government formed in March, headed by Prime Minister Balendra Shah. The authorities still have credibility as the "new faces" fighting corruption, but the social tension in society has not gone away.
Experts warn that if the government shows inefficiency in the distribution of humanitarian aid, delays the restoration of bridges and hydroelectric power plants, or allows abuses on the ground, then a wave of public discontent in the future from six months to a year may escalate into mass protests. The elimination of the consequences of the disaster on the Bhote Koshi River will be a test of capacity for Balendra Shah's team.
However, the current tragedy is unlikely to surpass the disaster of 2015. At that time, the most powerful earthquake in Nepal's history caused damage ranging from $7 billion to $10 billion. This destroyed almost half of the country's nominal GDP and claimed the lives of about 9,000 people.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
