Nepal suffers another unimaginable loss after 14 months due to lack of real-time flood warning from China

 Nepal suffers another unimaginable loss after 14 months due to lack of real-time flood warning from China

The unexpected and severe flood that came from China's Tibet region on Wednesday morning has caused major damage in Rasuwa, Dhading, Nuwakot and Chitwan districts. The flood that occurred in Bhotekoshi, when an avalanche blocked a river in Tibet burst a lake, has once again brought to the surface the lack of information exchange in disaster management between Nepal and China.

This incident is similar to the flood that washed away the Miteri Bridge at the Rasuwagadhi border post 14 months ago (i.e. on Asad 24, 2082). However, this time, the loss of life and property is estimated to be even greater than last year. According to Bagmati Province Police Spokesperson Rajendra Prasad Dhamala, 46 bodies have been found so far, while 93 injured have been rescued.

At that time, 11 people lost their lives and 18 went missing in Nepal when the ‘Purepu Glacier Lake’, located about 35 kilometers from the Nepal-China border, burst.

During the investigation after the flood, satellite images taken shortly before the glacier lake burst showed a significant increase in water level. The images were obtained by the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority from various sources. If information about the rising level of the glacier lake had been received in time, the issue of reducing human losses by taking precautions would have been raised in Nepal at that time.

This another devastating flood, which came about 14 months after the previous flood, has once again highlighted the importance of early warning of disasters from the Chinese side. In this regard, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said on Wednesday that it had agreed to provide immediate information about the weather impact with the Chinese side. However, detailed information about the concrete procedures and mechanisms for exchanging information has not yet been received.

Subject of formal agreement: Discussions were held last year

After last year's floods, a meeting of the 'National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management' chaired by then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli discussed entering into a formal agreement with China.

According to Shanti Mahat, spokesperson for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, despite Nepal's repeated efforts, the Chinese side has not shown much interest in it. Therefore, no advance notice could be received from China about the floods on Wednesday morning.

"It is difficult to get information because information is confidential in China and their social networks are also different," she told Tekpana. "Now, only if there is high-level coordination on this issue through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can the work of information exchange move forward effectively."

Active mechanism with India, zero with China!

India, on the other hand, has a relatively strong mechanism for managing risks from Nepal's southern border. A committee between the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and the Central Water Commission of India exchanges 'real-time' information on 25 Nepali and 18 Indian river basins. However, there is no such formal mechanism on the northern border.

According to Binod Parajuli, head of the department's water and forecasting branch, the Chinese side itself seemed unaware of this flood. "They may have received the information late because there was a lot of damage there too," Parajuli said.

However, he said that the internal information issued by Nepal as soon as the flood entered Rasuwa helped send people to safer places in the lower coastal areas of Dhading and Nuwakot. He added, "In Rasuwa, the information could not be delivered in time. Even in the places where the information was delivered, people did not seem to be able to reach the safe places."

He said that if Nepal had received real-time information on the matter as soon as the flood hit China, it would have been easier to adopt security measures. If advance notice had been received, there would have been a possibility of reducing human losses by giving advance notice to the citizens of the Rasuwa border area as well.

25 glacial lakes at risk

According to a study by the International Centre for Mountain Development (ICMOD) and UNDP, 47 glacial lakes in Nepal's watershed are at risk of bursting. Of these, 25 are in China. Unless Nepal is immediately informed about the condition of these glacial lakes in China, it seems that citizens living in the coastal areas of various rivers will always be at risk of such sudden floods.

However, it is not that China has always provided advance warning. In 2073 BS, a flood from China caused a severe flood in the Bhotekoshi. At that time, 50 houses in Sindhupalchowk were washed away, but human casualties were avoided due to the timely information provided by the Chinese side.