Damages by disaster incidents estimated at Rs 17bn

The government has reported that the floods and landslides triggered by heaving rainfall last week caused damages worth more than Rs 17bn.

According to the preliminary damage assessment report prepared by the government, the disaster incidents caused damage of more than Rs 6bn to the agriculture sector alone. The report states that paddy crops alone suffered damages worth Rs 3.5bn. Floods and landslides affected paddy crops on 58,476 hectares in Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, Parsa, Nawalparasi East, Baglung, Khotang, Jhapa, Kailali, Lamjung, Parvat, Kaski, Syangja, Makwanpur, Kavre and Sindhuli.

Likewise, floodwaters caused damages worth Rs 1.13bn to fisheries on 458 hectares in Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara and Parsa. Similarly, sugarcane crops on 85 hectares worth Rs 340m were destroyed by the floods. Additionally, 24 animal sheds were damaged in Panchthar, Dhankuta, and Terhathum, while floods and landslides claimed a total of 26,205 livestock in Panchthar, Ilam, Sunsari, Dhankuta, Solukhumbu, Okhaldhunga, Ramechhap, Dolakha, Lalitpur and all districts of Madhes.

According to the report, floods and landslides destroyed orchards on 22 hectares in Kaski, Nawalparasi East, Kanchanpur and Rautahat, as well as vegetables on 4,743 hectares in Khotang, Makwanpur, Chitwan, Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Bara and Parsa. Office infrastructure sustained damages amounting to Rs 160m across various districts, according to the agriculture ministry.

Likewise, there have been significant damages to energy, drinking water, road and irrigation infrastructure. The energy sector has suffered damages worth around Rs 4bn. As many as 16 hydropower projects with an installed capacity of 667.93 MW suffered damages due to floods and landslides, while 18 under-construction projects with total capacity of 1139.19 MW suffered damages. Projects like Upper Tamakoshi (456 MW), Mandu Hydropower (22 MW), two projects on Hewa Khola with combined capacity of 36.9 MW and Solu Dudhkoshi (86 MW), among others, suffered significant damages. Similarly, five major transmission towers have suffered damages.

Likewise, state-owned Nepal Telecom has reported damage at 312 sites. 

“Although the agricultural sector is estimated to have suffered the most damage, the details of the damage to agricultural crops will be prepared within one month,” said Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal. “A total of 21 districts have been affected by floods and landslides. Of them, Kavre, Lalitpur, Dhading, Kathmandu, Sindhupalchok, Sindhuli and Makwanpur have been affected the most.”

Aryal said that temporary housing will be arranged for people displaced by disaster incidents. 

According to him, families, who have lost their homes in the disaster, will be immediately identified as beneficiaries and grant amounts will be distributed for temporary housing construction. The families will be provided with Rs 25,000 each as the first installment of housing grant, according to Aryal.

“Obstructed strategic roads across the country will be reopened with increased urgency. We will install Bailey bridges on important roads where bridges have been washed away by floods and landslides,” he added.

Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall last weekend have claimed 224 lives, while 24 are missing and 158 people have been injured.