Kathmandu: The flash flood that tore through northern Nepal in August is a "defining moment" for the country and the international community, the head of the UN Office for Project Services, Jorge Moreira da Silva, has said, describing it as one of the deadliest climate disasters on record.
Briefing journalists in New York by videolink on Wednesday after a visit to the affected areas, Moreira da Silva said survivors told him of a wall of water more than 100 metres high, travelling at about 180 km per hour, that devastated 60 km of valley in seconds. "We are not dealing with a normal flood," he said.
The glacier-outburst flood struck the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli region on August 26. More than 1,500 people lost their lives and 5,600 remain missing, according to the UN. More than 100 bridges collapsed, 13 hydropower dams and 23 schools were destroyed, and 2.2 million tonnes of debris now cover what were homes, roads and rivers. Some 100,000 people have been affected, including more than 30,000 children.
Moreira da Silva put recovery needs at $4.8 billion, equivalent to about 10 per cent of Nepal's GDP. A UN flash appeal for $50 million in immediate support has raised only $24.5 million. Nepal is finalising a post-disaster needs assessment and preparing a recovery plan with UN and multilateral support.
He called the disaster a tangible expression of climate injustice, noting that Nepal emits just 0.08 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Separately, the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage has approved $20 million for Nepal's flood-hit areas.