Water-Related Disasters Highlight Climate Change Impacts and Need for Preparedness

Water is not available everywhere. Where it is available, there are as many risks as opportunities from water. Every person needs a minimum of 40 liters of water per day. Water, connected to nature and life, is also a source of economic earning. Besides drinking water, there are opportunities from water such as electricity, irrigation, fish farming, tourism sources, and waterways. Along with the utility of water, there are also risks, and water poses a challenge to human life.

The disaster caused by the flood in the Bhote Koshi on Bhadra 10, due to an avalanche in the Lhende River above the Chinese border in Tibet, has caused unimaginable devastation and human and physical damage in the border areas of Rasuwagadhi, Timure, Syabrubesi, Betrawati, Trishuli, Galchi, and Baireni Bazaar, along with the affected areas. Nepal has had to endure this catastrophic situation.

This disaster is related to water, and the technology for early warning of disasters could not be utilized. Last year also, due to an avalanche in Solukhumbu, a similar disaster of glacial lake and landslide destroyed 11 households, schools, and health posts.

In previous years, the devastating disaster in Melamchi caused loss of life and property and destroyed the drinking water source for Kathmandu, while floods in the Kabhre and Dudhkoshi riverine areas, including along the BP Highway, caused damage, and reconstruction has not been completed.

The tsunami that hit the coastal areas of the Pacific Ocean in 2004, the devastation caused by floods and landslides in areas like Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, India, a few years ago, the severe floods in Pakistan last year, and the recent floods in the northeastern state of Assam, India, have caused significant loss of life and property. The presented disaster is related to water, earthquakes, glacial lakes, and landslides, leading to a terrifying scale of destruction. Water-related disasters are considered a top priority globally.

Coastal areas of the oceans and rivers flowing from the Himalayas are affected by water-related disasters. The impact of climate change is also linked to water-related disasters. In some cases, the effectiveness of disaster warning and strategic action plans also influences disaster risk response or control.

The cause and manner of the devastating flood and landslide in the Bhote Koshi are under discussion. Due to the remote location in China’s Tibet region, information may not have arrived on time. The problem also arose because the disaster is linked to the impact of the cross-border.

In the present disaster, the state’s entire power must be mobilized for search and rescue, treatment of the injured, and the resettlement of the homeless to a normal life. The government is striving to manage search and rescue and relief distribution by mobilizing all state resources. The public supports the government’s active role in search and rescue operations, and it is also a citizen’s duty to assist the victims by directly or indirectly helping in search and rescue and relief distribution during such crises.

There were opportunities to alert citizens in time about water-related disasters that occur seasonally, to protect them from risks, and to warn affected areas using siren technology when the water flow in rivers and streams increases.

The effectiveness of activities and information dissemination by disaster management mechanisms in disaster-affected areas, such as assessing risks, evacuating potential disaster zones, and taking precautionary measures, could have reduced the damage. Information from the Meteorological Department would also have kept citizens aware and alert.

Public outcry has emerged regarding the lack of information flow during the Bhote Koshi flood and landslide. Information should have come from across the border. If the information had arrived on time, the loss of life would have been significantly reduced, and the loss of property could also have been lessened. There were also claims of weakness in border administration effectiveness or disaster management diplomacy.

During the water disaster season, the concerned district administration or border administration should prioritize contacting the relevant bodies across the border to exchange information about disaster risks and to alert and warn citizens in affected areas in a timely manner.

Water-related disasters are also directly related to geography. In snow-covered areas, avalanches occur, glacial lakes burst, and when rivers flowing through mountain gorges and ravines carry stones, soil, and gravel, the resulting pressure causes erosion in mountain gorges and riverbanks. Furthermore, when landslides from the hills mix in, it leads to terrifying destruction in the riverine areas. Excessive rainfall also causes similar situations. If information had been disseminated in a timely manner, the risk could have been significantly reduced, even if 100% of the damage could not have been prevented.

The main cause of recent disasters is widely argued to be the impact of climate change. Due to changes in weather patterns, people in snow-covered regions have had to endure more water-related calamities and disasters. The adverse effects of climate change, such as the impact on the Earth’s ozone layer, the use of fossil fuels in production, carbon emissions from industrialization in developed nations, and rising temperatures, disproportionately affect poor countries.

This situation is widely recognized as an injustice by rich nations against poor nations. 29 COP conferences have been held so far on mitigating the effects of climate change. In these conferences, the excessive melting of snow in the Hindu Kush mountain range, the bursting of glacial lakes, the decline in agricultural production affecting livelihoods, and rising temperatures have been prominently raised.

Additionally, data on climate justice and national damages have been presented at the International Court of Justice (The Hague). Reducing the risk of water-related disasters is considered a long-term solution.

The government now has the opportunity to participate in powerful forums like the United Nations General Assembly to raise arguments and factual voices for climate justice. By presenting our suffering to the global community, we can work towards long-term mitigation of future risks and pressure for compensation for the damage caused by destruction. Past events due to the effects of climate change serve as a basis for diagnosing our problems, and they also present a good opportunity to claim compensation for the losses incurred.

The government’s initiative should be supported by the general public spontaneously to prioritize disaster management in the dire situation of the Bhote Koshi. Support is being received for Bhote Koshi disaster management from within the country and from the international community. Emphasis should be placed on utilizing the received support in the phased activities of disaster management, from search and rescue to rehabilitation.

The state must be active in ensuring that relief distribution and rehabilitation for the affected citizens are easily accessible, along with increasing the effectiveness of the bodies engaged in disaster management. Ultimately, there is now a significant opportunity to achieve a long-term solution to disaster risks and to claim compensation for the destruction caused by the effects of climate change and make it fruitful.