Nepal's Massive Floods Cause 2.4 Trillion Won in Property Damage, Require 6.3 Trillion Won for Reconstruction

The massive floods that occurred last month in Nepal have resulted in an estimated total property damage of 2.4 trillion won, with reconstruction costs expected to exceed 6 trillion won.

According to Nepalese media Online Khabar on the 14th (local time), the Nepalese government announced that the total physical damage from the massive floods is estimated at 274.48 billion Nepalese rupees (approximately 2.4 trillion won).

It added that reconstruction is projected to require 723.31 billion Nepalese rupees (approximately 6.3 trillion won).

While Nepalese government officials have previously estimated that disaster recovery would cost between 4 billion and 5 billion dollars (approximately 5.5 trillion to 6.9 trillion won), this marks the first time the government has released an official figure.

Damage to infrastructure accounted for more than 60% of the total, recorded at 172.34 billion Nepalese rupees (approximately 1.5 trillion won).

In particular, the energy sector, including hydroelectric power plants and transmission lines, suffered the most damage at 134.69 billion Nepalese rupees (approximately 1.1 trillion won).

This accounted for roughly 80% of all infrastructure damage.

Next, damage to housing, schools, and cultural facilities was estimated at 67.84 billion Nepalese rupees (approximately 600 billion won), followed by roads at 22 billion Nepalese rupees (approximately 200 billion won), and bridges at 11.35 billion Nepalese rupees (approximately 100 billion won).

Previously, Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported that 7,570 private buildings were completely or partially destroyed, with 32,933 people directly affected.

A total of 37 temporary shelters have been set up along the Trishuli River in Bagmati Province, central-northern Nepal, housing 3,628 displaced people.

Additionally, agricultural irrigation facilities suffered 1.64 billion Nepalese rupees (approximately 14 billion won) in damage, public water supply systems 1.38 billion Nepalese rupees (approximately 12 billion won), and telecommunications 620 million Nepalese rupees (approximately 5.4 billion won).

A Nepalese government official stated, "We estimate that emergency recovery during the first six months of the overall reconstruction process will cost 9 billion Nepalese rupees (approximately 79 billion won)."

When a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal in 2015, killing around 9,000 people and destroying 1 million buildings, recovery costs were reported to have reached 9 billion dollars (approximately 12.4 trillion won).

The massive floods that occurred on the 26th of last month in the upper Himalayan mountainous region left more than 1,400 dead and over 5,600 missing across Nepal and China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Among the missing are nine South Korean workers who were constructing the Upper Trishuli-1 (UT-1) hydroelectric power plant in Nepal.
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.