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Glacier collapse toll
Nepal’s catastrophic floods began on August 26 when a glacier collapse sent a flood of ice, rock and mud down the Trishuli River in Nepal’s border region with China, wiping out towns and villages and killing more than 1,250 people with more than 4,200 still missing.
“Property, housing and infrastructure worth at least 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees ($2.56 billion) was lost”
Dharma Raj Upreti, chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, told Reuters that property, housing and infrastructure worth at least 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees ($2.56 billion) was lost, and that the first four months of early recovery would cost around $52.6 million.
Upreti said Nepal will need to rebuild around 20,000 houses in flood-ravaged areas, with at least 7,500 destroyed, while Shafaq News put the death toll at 1,287 and said 5,083 others remained missing nine days after the disaster.
Shafaq News also reported that authorities rescued two people from the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project, while Reuters described the glacier collapse as trapping people in tunnels linked to hydropower projects along the river.
Across the border, Shafaq News said Chinese authorities reported 21 deaths and 541 people missing in the Xizang Autonomous Region, also known as Tibet, and combined official figures put the toll at 1,308 dead and 5,624 missing.
Hydropower tunnel rescues
Nine days after the August 26 collapse, rescuers pulled two survivors from a tunnel linked to a hydropower station on Nepal’s Trishuli River on Friday, Reuters reported.
Reuters said officials and rescue workers believe the glacier collapse trapped at least 900 people in tunnels related to six hydropower projects along the waters, and that the two workers pulled from the tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station were the first to be rescued from the hydropower projects.
The army said it recovered a body from the site, and Reuters described videos released by Nepali authorities showing Kabir Maharjan being hoisted from a hole in the ground as bystanders cheered, then lowered onto a stretcher.
Reuters also quoted mechanical foreman Sanjay Sah, who said, “I was in the control room, so my responsibility was to save everyone’s lives. When there was such a big accident, it was not right for me to run away,” and said Sah later described reciting mantras while trapped.
Shafaq News reported that authorities rescued two people from the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project and said searches continued for around 900 personnel deployed at the facilities, while Reuters said more search and rescue operations were underway around the Upper Trishuli 3A project.
Recovery costs and risks
In the early recovery phase, Dharma Raj Upreti told Reuters that restoring roads, drinking water and electricity and providing temporary shelters during the first four months would cost around $52.6 million, and that a detailed assessment would be done soon.
“The disaster could result in commercial insurance losses exceeding $132.3 million”
Reuters reported that the disaster could result in commercial insurance losses exceeding $132.3 million, with hydropower projects accounting for most claims, while Shafaq News said property, housing and infrastructure losses in Nepal are estimated at more than 387.5 billion Nepalese rupees ($2.56 billion).
Upreti said Nepal will need to rebuild around 20,000 homes in flood-hit areas, including at least 7,500 destroyed, and Reuters added that 11 Nepali hydropower projects lie in the affected region with access roads and above-ground infrastructure washed away.
Reuters also said at least 583 foreign nationals were missing in the floods, and Shafaq News reported that the missing include 583 foreigners and that combined official figures from both countries put the toll at 1,308 dead and 5,624 missing.
As search teams continued, Reuters said the army and police led rescue efforts with assistance from experts from India, South Korea and China, and it described the possibility of finding other survivors fading even as the two rescued men were taken to an army hospital in Kathmandu.