In May 2012, a massive flash flood just north of Pokhara, the district headquarters of Kaski District and the main tourist hub in the Western Region of Nepal, caused immense destruction. In a matter of seconds, a powerful wall of water swept away several settlements along the Seti River, breaching river banks downstream and damaging the water supply for Pokhara, a city with a quarter million inhabitants.
Reportedly, 28 people lost their lives and many more were injured. In July and August 2012, Dang District in the Mid Western Tarai Region was affected by the flooding of two separate rivers in a period of less than two weeks. The floods, which in certain areas reached up to one and half meters (five feet) above the normal water level, damaged over two thousand shelters, houses or buildings – completely destroying around 165 – mostly those of poor families. It left the area cut-off for several days and many households lost cattle, stored grains or crops in the fields. Reportedly, two people lost their lives and many more were affected.
Nepal is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world. It is ranked in the top 20 of countries most at risk to multiple natural hazards including earthquakes, flooding, landslides and glacial lake outburst floods. More specifically, Nepal is listed 11th most at risk to earthquakes, 30th to floods and fourth at high risk to disasters resulting from climate change in the next 30 years. In the past four decades, an estimated five million people have been affected and more than 27,000 – or two per day on average – have lost their lives as a result of natural disasters and many more have been injured. The most recent flooding in Nepal during late June 2013, resulting from incessant monsoon rainfall, has reportedly cost the lives of nearly 60 people and affected hundreds of households in the Far and Mid Western Regions and continues to affect the daily lives of people in the Eastern, Central and Far Western part of the country.
