Nepal weather alert: Monsoon rains trigger risk of landslides and flash floods
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Nepal weather alert: Monsoon rains trigger risk of landslides and flash floods")
Nepal weather alert: Monsoon rains trigger risk of landslides and flash floods Photograph: (Credit: AFP)
Nepal is on high alert as torrential monsoon rains trigger risks of fresh floods and landslides across several districts. Coming just weeks after a catastrophic disaster, authorities urge residents to brace for severe weather.
A month after an ice-rock avalanche unleashed one of Nepal's deadliest natural disasters, the Himalayan nation is bracing for another wave of monsoon rain and flooding, with authorities warning that swollen rivers could again threaten communities along the Nepal-China border. The disaster struck on August 26, when an avalanche of ice and rock triggered massive flash floods that killed at least eight people initially and left hundreds missing, causing widespread damage to villages and infrastructure. The Nepal Electricity Authority reported that roughly 430 megawatts of hydropower and solar production capacity was damaged in the disaster. The death toll has since climbed dramatically, with the toll crossing 1,100 lives by early September, while neighbouring India sent technical teams to assist and thousands remained missing.
Even in the immediate aftermath, the danger did not subside. Days after the catastrophe, water levels in the Bhote Koshi surged again, prompting fresh alerts along the Trishuli river corridor, and the US Embassy in Kathmandu warned that additional heavy rain could trigger localised flooding, landslides, debris flows and travel disruptions.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah has repeatedly framed the disaster as a climate emergency demanding cross-border cooperation. Speaking on the devastation spreading across the Nepal-China border, with floodwaters flowing even into India, Shah said: "Climate change does not recognise borders." He has also pointed to hard data behind the crisis, noting that Himalayan temperatures have risen by 1.8 degrees and calling disaster response a global responsibility.
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The crisis has also shaped Nepal's diplomacy. Shah addressed the UN General Assembly on September 24, with his speech focused on climate action, climate justice and compensation for climate-related losses stemming from the Bhotekoshi floods. Analysts have urged Nepal to push for a Himalayan climate-resilience mechanism with India and China to share data and improve early warnings.
With the monsoon season not yet over, disaster officials continue monitoring river levels closely, wary that the same conditions that produced August's catastrophe could recur before the season ends.
