"Even the Land Is Gone… Worse Than the Nepal Earthquake"

Due to the massive floods in Nepal, numerous houses and buildings, as well as the land along rivers and valleys, have disappeared under thick layers of mud and water.

While the Nepalese government and residents now attempt to rebuild collapsed homes and buildings, the disappearance of the land itself has left them in a position where they must find safe new locations to prepare for potential future floods.

According to AFP on the 5th (local time), Pavitra Lamsal, 45, who has lived for over 40 years in Nuwakot, a flood-affected area in the north-central Bagmati Province of Nepal, lost both of her houses and rice paddies to the recent floods.

Waiting in line at a food distribution center in Nuwakot, Lamsal said, "The river is flowing right over the spot where our house used to be," adding, "There is not a single patch of land left."

She lamented, "All our money was swept away by the river," expressing deep concern about where she and her nine family members will live from now on.

Shanti Sunar, 45, who survived with her husband but lost her house and small shop to the floods, told Reuters, "I go to the site almost every day. I can recognize where our house used to be, but now there is not even a trace left."

Sunar said, "We cannot rebuild our house there because it is not safe," adding, "We hope the government will relocate us to a safer place."

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority of Nepal, the massive floods have affected about 1.6 million people, which is around 5 percent of Nepal's entire population, and rendered about 20,000 homes uninhabitable, including some 7,500 houses that were completely washed away.

Consequently, these houses need to be rebuilt, but a significant portion of the affected areas remains completely submerged or covered in sediment such as mud and soil several meters thick.

Furthermore, Bloomberg reported that as climate change accelerates the melting of Himalayan glaciers, raising concerns over recurring floods in the future, authorities are uncertain about where to begin reconstruction.

In addition, buildings other than houses, including schools, have also lost their plots of land due to the massive floods, further deepening the concerns of reconstruction authorities.

Rajendra Dawadi, 47, principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in the Nuwakot region—who gained global attention for swiftly evacuating about 900 students and staff members during the floods—stated that "this disaster is more severe" than the April 2015 Nepal earthquake, which claimed the lives of about 9,000 people.

Dawadi explained to AFP, "During the earthquake, the school was completely destroyed, but we rebuilt it. Back then, at least the land remained, but this time, we have lost not only the buildings but even the land."

He emphasized, "This place is no longer safe," and noted that a new site is needed to rebuild the school.

Govinda Raj Pokharel, former chief executive of Nepal's National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), who led reconstruction efforts after the 2015 Nepal earthquake, also told Bloomberg, "When an earthquake happened, even if houses collapsed, the land remained so we could rebuild. But this time, where are we supposed to reconstruct?"

In response, Dhruba Raj Upreti, an official at the disaster management authority, stated, "It makes no sense to rebuild houses in the same place. Doing so would only expose people to the exact same danger [as this massive flood]."

He added that authorities are struggling to identify safer areas to construct buildings.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.