Landslide Risk Reduction in Nepal

The loss of life and destruction caused by landslides in Nepal, caused by heavy rains, breaks our hearts. More than 330 valuable lives were lost or are still missing due to landslides during this monsoon.

“There are one hundred and seventy-two families in great danger, and we demand that they be resettled in a safer place,” said Srijana Tamang, deputy mayor of Gogal Rural in Sindhupalchuk District. In a landslide, 39 people were killed in the village of Lady in the morning of August 14, including more than 15 children. Residents survived the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, reclaiming their homes and rebuilding their lives, only to perish from another disaster.

Mountainous terrain

Nepal’s challenging mountainous terrain is a great asset providing prospects for tourism. At the same time, the steep slopes are a huge challenge to neighboring communities. These communities protected themselves with original measures such as bioengineering. After the 2015 earthquake, vulnerable families have been resettled to safer locations. Institutionally speaking, the establishment and management of the National Authority for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management as the primary agency responsible for overall disaster risk reduction and management, including the deployment of landslide early warning with implementing agencies and regional and local governments, paved the way for further engagement.

The World Bank has worked with the National Authority for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management to support the federal disaster risk reduction and management agenda as required under the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2017 to strengthen regional and local governments for communities to be more prepared as well as effective disaster response for rapid recovery and rehabilitation .

The World Bank has supported Nepal’s journey to strengthen resilience with a number of interventions. The Post-Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Project supports the rebuilding of 335,700 multi-hazard resistant homes in earthquake affected areas. The Building Resilience to Climate-Related Hazards (BRCH) project strengthened the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology’s ability to provide accurate weather and flood forecasts, thus contributing to reducing the loss of life due to floods.

Main areas

Intense or prolonged precipitation due to climate change and human interventions in vulnerable areas is likely to increase the number and impact of landslides. However, adopting modern technology based on disaster risk reduction efforts in Nepal can help reduce tragedies. The following are the main areas in which Nepal can enhance resilience to landslide risks:

Establishing a 24/7 geographical warning unit at the National Emergency Operations Center as a front line to protect people’s lives through early warning. The unit will spread early warning through SMS, social media and television to communities with increased landslide risk in real time, and communities where landslides have occurred nearby with safety information such as road blockages or safe routes to shelters. The unit needs a dedicated team, high capacity for information and communication technology, and a common data exchange protocol to coordinate and communicate with the executive agencies such as the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology to receive rainfall data and forecasts in real time, and to manage roads to block them in – advance road danger and the mines and geology department in case of an earthquake . The Geo-Hazard Early Warning Unit has been accredited in various countries including New Zealand.

Landslide risk mapping and risk mitigation for critical facilities. First, landslide risk maps should be prepared at the country level that identify vital communities and facilities such as schools, shelters, hospitals, bridges and roads with a high risk of landslides. In Nepal, landslide risk mitigation in all homes is very costly, but mitigation can be prioritized for high-risk vital facilities. Based on in-depth field investigations and designs, mitigation measures should be implemented in these critical facilities. This approach has been taken in Sri Lanka.

Community disaster risk management. Communities and homes still in landslide risk areas must be equipped with cost-effective and reliable early warning systems. There is a successful pilot in Dolakha where the monitored data from various sensors and rain gauges are sent to the responsible organizations in real time to circulate the warnings. Some communities have been trained to stabilize slopes using bioengineering. By working closely with regional and local governments, these successful community-based disaster risk management efforts must be expanded to include other vulnerable communities.

Establishing a training center on geographical risk management. Landslides and Geohazard risk management is an interagency and multidisciplinary effort that requires coordination between multiple agencies in early warning and mitigation. We propose to build a geographic risk management training center not only for government officials to visit and learn various best practices, but also for community volunteers and school children to increase public awareness. An applied search function can be added to test mitigation techniques and conduct soil testing to determine the best mitigation designs. These training and research positions are exercised in various countries including Japan and the United States as partnerships between government and university.

By implementing these bold measures to manage geographic risks, the loss of life and property from landslides in Nepal can be greatly reduced, and communities can be made resilient to disasters. The World Bank stands ready to help.

***

What do you think?

Dear reader, we would like to hear from you. We regularly post letters to the editor about contemporary issues or direct responses to something the newspaper recently published. Please send your messages to [email protected] with “Message to Editor” in the subject line. Please include your name, location and contact address so one of our editors can contact you.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos