{"id":58250,"date":"2025-08-10T18:52:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T18:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/58250\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T18:52:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T18:52:21","slug":"nepal-floods-show-need-for-resilient-infrastructure-amid-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/58250\/","title":{"rendered":"Nepal floods show need for resilient infrastructure amid climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) \u2014 Floods that damaged hydropower dams in Nepal and destroyed the main bridge connecting the country to China show the vulnerability of infrastructure and need for smart rebuilding in a region bearing the brunt of a warming planet<\/a>, experts say. <\/p>\n

The flooding<\/a> of the Bhotekoshi River on July 8 also killed nine people<\/a> and damaged an inland container depot that was being built to support increasing trade between the two countries. The 10 damaged hydropower facilities, including three under construction, have a combined capacity that could power 600,000 South Asian homes. <\/p>\n

Another smaller flood in the area on July 30 damaged roads and structures, but caused less overall destruction. Elsewhere in the Himalayas, flash floods swept away roads, homes<\/a> and hotels on Tuesday in northern India, killing at least four people and leaving many others trapped under debris, officials said. <\/p>\n

The Himalayan region, which crosses Nepal<\/a> and several nearby countries including India, is especially vulnerable to heavy rains, floods and landslides because the area is warming up faster than the rest of the world due to human-caused climate change. Climate experts say the increasing frequency of extreme weather has changed the playbook for assessing infrastructure risks while also increasing the need for smart rebuilding plans. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe statistics of the past no longer apply for the future,\u201d said John Pomeroy, a hydrologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. \u201cThe risk that goes into building a bridge or other infrastructure is generally based on historical observations of past risk, but this is no longer useful because future risk is different and often much higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

While damage estimates from the July floods in the Rasuwa region are still being calculated, past construction costs give a sense of the financial toll. The Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge alone, for example, took $68 million to rebuild after it was destroyed by a 2015 earthquake that ravaged Nepal.<\/p>\n

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\"People<\/p>\n

People carry goods from a damaged truck stuck after monsoon rains swept away a key bridge connecting the country with China in Rasuwagadi, north of the capital, Kathmandu, Nepal, July, 9, 2025. (AP Photo\/Sujan Gurung, File)<\/p>\n

People carry goods from a damaged truck stuck after monsoon rains swept away a key bridge connecting the country with China in Rasuwagadi, north of the capital, Kathmandu, Nepal, July, 9, 2025. (AP Photo\/Sujan Gurung, File)<\/p>\n

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The latest disaster has also stoked fears of long-lasting economic damage in a region north of the capital city Kathmandu that spent years rebuilding after the 2015 quake. Nepali government officials estimate that $724 million worth of trade with China is conducted over the bridge each year, and that has come to a standstill. <\/p>\n

\u201cThank God there wasn\u2019t much damage to local villages, but the container depot and bridges have been completely destroyed. This has severely affected workers, hotel operators, laborers, and truck drivers who rely on cross-border trade for their livelihoods,\u201d said Kaami Tsering, a local government official, in a phone interview with The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Among those affected is Urken Tamang, a 50-year-old parking attendant at the depot who has been out of work for several weeks. A small tea shop he runs nearby with his family has also suffered. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been unlucky,\u201d said Tamang, a former farmer who sold his land and changed jobs when work on the depot began. He added: \u201cThe whole area was severely damaged by the 2015 earthquake, and just when life was slowly returning to normal, this devastating flood struck.\u201d <\/p>\n

Disasters show need for climate-resilient infrastructure <\/p>\n

The Nepal floods are the latest in a series of disasters in South Asia during this year\u2019s monsoon season.<\/a> Research has shown that extreme weather has become more frequent in the region including heat waves, heavy rains and melting glaciers. <\/p>\n

Climate experts said smart planning and rebuilding in climate-vulnerable regions must include accounting for multiple risks, installing early warning systems, preparing local communities for disasters and, when needed, relocating infrastructure. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we have to avoid is the insanity of rebuilding after a natural disaster in the same place where it occurred and where we know it will occur again at even higher probability,\u201d said Pomeroy, the Canadian hydrologist. \u201cThat\u2019s a very poor decision. Unfortunately, that\u2019s what most countries do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Damaged<\/p>\n

Damaged vehicles are visible after severe monsoon rains flooded the Bhotekoshi River and swept away a key bridge connecting the country with China in Rasuwagadi, north of the capital, Kathmandu, Nepal, July, 9, 2025. (AP Photo\/Sujan Gurung, File)<\/p>\n

Damaged vehicles are visible after severe monsoon rains flooded the Bhotekoshi River and swept away a key bridge connecting the country with China in Rasuwagadi, north of the capital, Kathmandu, Nepal, July, 9, 2025. (AP Photo\/Sujan Gurung, File)<\/p>\n

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Before rebuilding in Rasuwa, Nepal government officials need to assess overall risks, including those due to extreme weather and climate change, said Bipin Dulal, an analyst at Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. <\/p>\n

The bridge connecting the two countries was rebuilt to better withstand earthquakes after it was destroyed in 2015, but it appears that officials didn\u2019t properly account for the risk of flooding as intense as what occurred in early July, Dulal said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to see what the extreme risk scenarios can be and we should rebuild in a way in which the infrastructure can handle those extremes,\u201d said Dulal.<\/p>\n

Dulal said that large building projects in South Asia typically undertake environmental impact assessments that don\u2019t adequately factor in the risks of floods and other disasters. The center is developing a multi-hazard risk assessment framework that it hopes will be adopted by planners and builders in the region to better account for the dangers of extreme weather. <\/p>\n

Resilient structures can save billions in the long run<\/p>\n

In 2024 alone, there were 167 disasters in Asia \u2014 including storms, floods, heat waves and earthquakes \u2014 which was the most of any continent, according to the Emergency Events Database maintained by the University of Louvain, Belgium. These led to losses of over $32 billion, the researchers found. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese disasters are all wake-up calls. These risks are real,\u201d said Ramesh Subramaniam, global director of programs and strategy at the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. <\/p>\n

A CDRI analysis found that $124 billion worth of Nepal\u2019s infrastructure is vulnerable to the impacts of climate-driven disasters, creating the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual losses if the country doesn\u2019t invest in resiliency. <\/p>\n

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\"Chinese<\/p>\n

Chinese land on left, and Nepalese land on right are visible after Friendship Bridge, a key bridge over the Bhotekoshi River connecting Nepal with China was swept away in monsoon rain in Rasuwagadi, north of the capital, Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, July, 9, 2025. (AP Photo\/Sujan Gurung, File)<\/p>\n

Chinese land on left, and Nepalese land on right are visible after Friendship Bridge, a key bridge over the Bhotekoshi River connecting Nepal with China was swept away in monsoon rain in Rasuwagadi, north of the capital, Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, July, 9, 2025. (AP Photo\/Sujan Gurung, File)<\/p>\n

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\u201cInvesting a relatively smaller figure now would prevent the loss of these enormous sums of damages,\u201d said Subramaniam. <\/p>\n

Subramaniam said that most climate investments are directed towards mitigation, such as building clean energy projects and trying to reduce the amount of planet-heating gases being released. But given extreme weather damage already occurring, investing in adapting to global warming is also equally important, he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think countries are learning and adaptation is becoming a standard feature in their annual planning,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Global efforts to prepare for and deal with such losses include a climate loss and damage fund set up by the United Nations in 2023. The fund currently has $348 million available, which the U.N. warns is only a fraction of the yearly need for economic damage related to human-caused climate change. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have also provided loans or grants to build climate-resilient projects.<\/p>\n

In Nepal\u2019s recently flood-ravaged region, Tsering, the local government official, said the repeated disasters have taken more than a financial toll on residents. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven though the river has now returned to a normal flow, the fear remains,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople will always worry that something like this could happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India ___<\/p>\n

Follow Sibi Arasu on X at @sibi123<\/a><\/p>\n

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Follow Niranjan Shrestha on Instagram at @nirishrestha<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n