Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Nepal’s recent flash flood has created an estimated USD 4.7 billion in recovery and reconstruction needs, according to a government-led assessment released on Saturday. The Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment for the Rasuwa-Bhotekoshi Flood 2026 put total damage at about USD 2.7 billion, including USD 1.81 billion in physical damage and USD 883.32 million in economic losses.
The assessment said the larger recovery figure is not simply the cost of replacing what was damaged. It covers rebuilding as well as disaster-risk reduction and resilience measures after the flood that struck northern and central Nepal on August 26.
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The flash floods were triggered by an ice-rock avalanche in the high Himalayas near the Nepal-Tibet border. Around 1,400 people were killed and more than 5,000 remain missing. The Bhotekoshi River carried the floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges, and damaging hydropower projects.
The assessment was led by Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority and covers Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan districts. It combines sector submissions, administrative records, satellite imagery, drone surveys, geospatial data and census information. Where direct inventories were incomplete, it used estimates based on mapped exposure, statistical relationships and costing assumptions.
In the energy sector, the report estimated physical damage at USD 889.21 million and economic losses at USD 107.91 million. It also estimated an annual hydropower generation loss of 2,520 GWh, but said generation baselines, outage periods and other assumptions still need further verification. Infrastructure accounts for 65.47 per cent of total recovery needs.
The road assessment recorded 69 km of damaged road, including 55 km on the Betrawati-Rasuwagadhi section classified as completely damaged and 14 km across other assessed sections classified as partially damaged. Road recovery needs were estimated at USD 364.28 million. The report said the immediate road recovery programme includes debris clearance, reopening tracks, temporary diversions, maintenance of alternative routes, and emergency slope and bank protection.
The report also recorded 68 affected trail bridges with a combined length of about 10,671 metres. It said a crossing register is needed to resolve geographic inconsistencies and support repair and reconstruction costs. The floods also completely damaged 37 motorable bridges.
The assessment included USD 625.52 million for disaster-risk reduction as a recovery provision rather than an additional estimate of damage. This includes USD 2.31 million for a multi-hazard early-warning system and USD 623.21 million for longer-term works. The RDNA said its findings remain an evolving evidence base, and that several inventories, engineering quantities and cost estimates still need verification and refinement, meaning the figures should be read as planning estimates rather than a final audited account or a confirmed government spending commitment.
Overall, the assessment showed that the August 26 flood caused heavy loss of life and widespread damage across several districts, with major impacts on infrastructure, transport and hydropower, while the recovery bill is expected to go well beyond the immediate cost of rebuilding.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
