Kathmandu: The devastating flash floods along Nepal’s border with Tibet have left the Himalayan kingdom reeling, with 625 people killed, and counting, and thousands missing including 300 Indians.
A glacier collapse triggered a sudden massive flood in the Bhote Koshi River in Rasuwa district on Wednesday, causing widespread damage.
With rescue operations continuing in difficult conditions, even as the meteorology department has warned of fresh rainfall and thunderstorms in flood-affected areas, Nepal is yet to fully come to grips to the exact extent of damage.
However, initial estimates suggest Nepal may need $4 billion to $5 billion or the rebuilding process, which is nearly a tenth of the country’s economy.
“The initial estimate is between $4-$5 billion. Just an estimate,” Finance minister Swarnim Wagle told Reuters.
If at all a silver lining was to be sought, it is that the scale of devastation is less than what Nepal experienced during the deadly 2015 earthquake.
“Loss and damage are being assessed… We will require much less than what we needed for the 2015 earthquake,” the minister remarked.
In what was Nepal’s worst disaster, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on Richter scale hit Gorkha district around noon. It killed nearly 9,000 people, destroyed more than half a million homes and caused losses estimated at around a third of Nepal’s economy.
Around $9 billion had to be spent for rebuilding 11 years ago.
