Lessons from the floods
The Himalayan Times
17 August 2017
Lessons from the floods
The havoc created by
incessant rain in most of the Tarai districts and in some hilly areas has been extremely
painful and highly alarming. Many villages in Tarai districts were inundated. Many
innocent people lost their lives and thousands were displaced. Thousands were stranded
and were at risk of being swept away by the floods. Many houses were submerged
and completely destroyed making the people homeless. Bridges collapsed. Highways
were blocked and damaged barring people from reaching their destinations
“Thousands stranded on Koshi Tappu” (THT, Aug 15, Page 1).
The
government and its mechanism seemed helpless albeit they tried their level best
to reach the victims. However, due to lack of any institutionalized mechanism
responsible for taking care of the level of such disaster, timely rescue and
rehabilitation of affected people felt below expectations. The relief materials
could not reach the victims on time forcing them to spend nights without food
and proper shelter. The local administrations were not able to provide clean
drinking water and other consumable foods to the victims “Relief materials yet
to reach victims” (THT, Aug 15, Page 1). It seems that the death toll may rise
as floodwaters start receding. So far, 111 people have been killed in floods
and landslides and 35 are missing “Death toll rises as floodwaters recede”
(THT, Aug.15, Page 1).
It
was not possible to control the natural calamity that creates havoc among the
people. However, the effect of this kind of natural calamity could have been
minimized, had the government taken appropriate measures on time. Had the
government timely asked the Indian Government to open the gates of Koshi
barrage based on the weather forecast made by the Hydrology and Meteorology
Department, the casualties and catastrophe would not have been so huge. Had the
embankment works along the rivers been done properly, the swollen river would
not flow outside of its course. Having said this, the government must learn the
lessons from this natural calamity and act swiftly to establish central and district
level disaster handling mechanism with appropriate skills and knowledge and
proper equipment to reach the victims on time.
Rai Biren Bangdel
Maharajgunj 
