Torrential rains cause serious flooding in Nepal

Fifteen districts of the eastern plain have been affected by the flooding. Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Udayapur, Sirha, Sarlahi, Mahattori, Rauthat and Bara districts are severely inundated, disrupting lives. Out of these ten districts, ACT member Lutheran World Federation - Nepal (LWF), is working in Jhapa and Morang. LWF formerly worked in Sarlahi and Mahottari districts. The remaining six districts are neighboring these districts.

In Mahottari, 80 percent of the municipality area is submerged, and 100,000 people in 50 village development committees (VDCs) are displaced. There is no place left even for air dropping. Similarly, more than 50 VDCs in Sirha district and 75 percent of the VDCs in Saptari are submerged.

According to various reports, hundreds of VDCs and numbers of municipalities have been submerged by floodwaters, and displaced families have been sheltered in various schools, madrasas and public and private buildings. District-level Natural Disaster Relief Committees have started the relief distribution. However, there are various reports of shortfalls of relief items.

Flash floods continue to disrupt normal life in the flood-affected districts. The meteorology department predicts that the downpour will continue for the next three to four days. In the meantime, traffic remains blocked along the east-west Mahendra Highway as floods destroyed the bridge over the Rapti River near Hetauda. Similarly, the Tribhuvan Rajpath and Mugling-Narayangadh highways, the only linkages connecting Kathmandu, have also remained blocked for the past two days due to at least ten major landslides. Numbers of culverts and some sections of highways were also swept away by floodwaters, and movement in flood-affected areas (district headquarters and villages) is difficult. Because of the poor visibility due to heavy rain, domestic flights are also not taking place regularly.

The water level at Koshi barrage on the Koshi River, the biggest river in the eastern part of the country, reached a record level on Saturday, 10 July, touching 396,725 cusecs in the barrage. This is only two feet under the danger level.

The high waters in Koshi have affected not only Saptari and Sunsari districts of Nepal but also the Indian state of Bihar. If heavy rains fall in the catchment areas of Koshi, there is a chance of a huge disaster on both sides of the Koshi River, affecting a large population, according to LWF.

If the situation does not improve or deteriorates, the effect will be immense. LWF Nepal is preparing an appeal to offer humanitarian assistance to the victims. LWF will assist the displaced with food items, shelter, water and sanitation and medicine. An LWF intervention will also mean assisting the displaced communities with future preparedness.

In addition to Nepal, severe flooding is also reported in India (Assam) and Bangladesh. The ACT Coordinating Office is in contact with the ACT members in both countries.

Any funding indication or pledge should be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira, ACT Finance Officer (jkg@act-intl.org). Thank you.