Nepal: How monsoons bring rain, landslides, and tragedy

In Nepal, the monsoon season brings a constant fear of landslides as settlements in many areas face the risk of being swept away. Shifting terrain claims hundreds of lives every year, while also threatening the country's arable land, highways, and other infrastructure. Financial losses for the Himalayan state amount to millions of dollars each year.

On July 11, a landslide swept two buses into the Trishuli River on the Narayanghat-Mugling road, one of the busiest highways connecting the capital, Kathmandu, with eastern and western parts of Nepal. Weeks later, rescuers have recovered 24 bodies, while 27 passengers are still considered missing.

Jagadish Prasad Yadav lost his 25-year-old daughter in the deadly incident. He blames her death on officials, accusing them of "allowing public transport amid landslide-prone areas" and not issuing a warning about the threat.

"If the government had issued a risk alert, I would have urged my daughter to postpone her travel," he told DW. 

Landslides threaten India, Japan, China

Just a day after the death of Yadav's daughter, eleven people lost their lives in similar incidents in Kaski district, a major tourist destination in Nepal. 

The data presented by Nepal's Home Ministry shows 3,082 people losing their lives to monsoon-related natural disasters in the last decade. Nearly 1,400 deaths were caused by landslides. Over 350 went missing in this time period, and close to 12,500 families were affected by landslides.

In recent years, landslides have also claimed hundreds of lives and caused economic losses worth millions of dollars in other Asian countries like India, the Philippines, Indonesia, China, and Japan.

Topography and monsoon rains worsen landslide crisis 

Bhishmakumar Bhusal, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, told DW that Nepal cannot completely prevent monsoon-related calamities, including landslides, due to its geography. 

"The government is focusing on minimizing their impact," he said.  

Experts agree that Nepal's geography is exacerbating the risks — the mountainous landscape is affected by constant tectonic activities, making the country vulnerable to earthquakes.

"These seismic events alter the geomorphology of young mountains prone to landslides. Additionally, the disrupted rainfall patterns have contributed to increasing the frequency and impact of landslides," engineering geologist Basanta Raj Adhikari told DW.

The monsoon season, from June to September, tends to make things worse. It brings heavy rains that saturate the soil with water and makes it susceptible to being washed away on slopping terrain.

The World Health Organization warns that climate change and rising temperatures will trigger more landslides, especially in more elevated areas with snow and ice.

"Being a mountainous country, we are experiencing extreme weather situations. Even our dry regions are witnessing unexpected rainfall, which drives natural calamities," climate scientist Binod Pokharel said.

However, he notes that no one can establish a firm link between any specific disaster and climate change without in-depth research to support this claim.

Building without landslide maps

Geologists also warn that, despite Nepal suffering from landslides for many decades, there is still no comprehensive mapping of landslide-prone areas.

"Studies have been conducted on small patches, but no detailed assessments have been made to identify risky and risk-free areas,'" geologist Adhikari said.

As a result, the general public is settling wherever they find vacant land, and the government is also expanding roads and designing culverts or bridges without analyzing potential risks.

With no proper planning, construction projects may harm the environment and boost natural hazards. In some cases, roads are washed away by landslides due to the lack of proper drainage systems or shoddy maintenance.

What can be done?

Experts say that geohazard assessments of existing highways, roads, and settlements are crucial to controlling the damage caused by landslides.

"We need an agency dedicated to addressing every aspect of landslides. Citizens should know whom to contact when they suddenly see cracks in their courtyard," geologist Bhattarai says.

But some, like former secretary general of the Nepal Red Cross Society Pitambar Aryal, warn that "the agencies responsible for disaster management in Nepal are not well-equipped to identify the risk, disseminate information about it, and handle the post-hazard situation properly."

Jagadish Prasad Yadav, who lost his daughter in the highway landslide last month, responded by encouraging his son to avoid travel. Just like his late daughter, his son is also studying in Kathmandu. Yadav used to invite him home as often as possible for the holidays. He now is afraid to do so, and prefers to talk to him on the phone .

"Because my son will also have to travel the same highway where his sister lost her life. Now I cannot take the risk," he told DW.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic

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