Nepali Times - Himalmedia Private Limited

In Nepal, "women are more likely than men to die from an outbreak or a disaster" says the vice-chair of Jugal village, which saw multiple landslides this monsoon.

Disaster management experts say many of the deadly landslides were triggered by haphazard road construction that disturbed the slopes and natural drainage.

Even as Nepal braces for the full socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdown, the monsoon brings the risk of yet another disaster – floods.

In the process of rebuilding after the 2015 Nepal earthquake, building materials were imported even though local raw material would have been available. The Sustainable Mountain Architecture (SMA) team now presents an alternative design for transitional homes, made from salvaged material and locally grown bamboo.

The Bhote Kosi has been hit thrice by disasters in the last two years - a wake-up call for developers of other large infrastructure projects along Himalayan rivers. While policy measures are in place, the scale of future floods could be so catastrophic that no mitigation measures will be adequate. The situation calls for advanced designs and project reevaluations.

'Given the high earthquake risk and other hazards in Nepal, UNDP has been working with the government on disaster risk reduction for many years,' declared Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)...

Helen Clark, head of UNDP, talks about the lessons learnt by the UN about disaster preparedness and response from the Haiti earthquake last year and the effect this has had in helping Nepal prepare for a disaster that one day is sure to come...

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nepal, Robert Piper, spoke to Nepali Times about the Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium and the preparation for a major earthquake...