Six days after the Bhotekoshi flood, Nepal is still coming to terms with the scale of the disaster. The search for nearly 4,000 missing people continues, families are still waiting for news of their loved ones, and the government has begun the difficult work of restoring roads, bridges, electricity, and other essential infrastructure.
But as the immediate rescue effort slowly turns into recovery, the government needs to look beyond what was destroyed. Its attention must now turn to those who survived.
They are alive, but many have lost almost everything. The disaster has already caused an estimated Rs 200 billion in losses. Around 2,500 houses have been damaged or destroyed in Nuwakot alone. Hydropower projects worth about Rs 150 billion have been affected, while repairing damaged roads and bridges could cost another Rs 30 billion.
Those figures give us an idea of the economic damage. They say much less about the human cost.
Someone who has lost a parent, spouse, or child does not get their life back because a road has been repaired. Families that have lost their homes, savings, livestock, documents, and personal belongings need much more than a few days of food or temporary assistance. Children who have lost their parents will need protection, education, and care for years to come. Those who survived the flood but watched their family members disappear may also need psychological support long after the waters have receded.
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That is why the next phase of the government’s response matters so much. Relief cannot end with food, temporary shelter, and cash assistance. The state needs a clear recovery plan that identifies every affected household, records what each family has lost, and assigns responsibility to the agencies that must help them recover.
The government must make sure they do not lose their education or become vulnerable to poverty and exploitation simply because a disaster tore their families apart.
Nepal also needs to strengthen its international appeal without delay. The government’s request for a special decision from the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage is therefore significant. The Bhotekoshi disaster was not simply another flood. It struck a fragile transboundary mountain river system and triggered damage that spread across settlements, infrastructure, transport, communications, energy projects, and livelihoods.
Nepal has contributed very little to global greenhouse gas emissions, yet its mountain communities are facing growing climate-related risks. This gives the country a strong case to seek assistance from the Loss and Damage Fund, the United Nations, international financial institutions, and other climate-related organizations.
The government should not wait until every rupee of damage has been counted before asking for help. The preliminary estimates already suggest that the disaster has stretched Nepal’s ability to respond on its own. International assistance will be needed not just for immediate relief, but also for reconstruction and long-term recovery.
That assistance, however, should not simply help Nepal rebuild what the flood destroyed. It should help the country build differently.
The question is not only how quickly Nepal can rebuild. Nepal needs a comprehensive risk map that brings together flood zones, landslide-prone slopes, glacial lakes, settlements, hydropower projects, roads, and other critical infrastructure. Future development should be guided by that information.
The country needs hydropower and better infrastructure. But the conversation cannot stop at how many megawatts we can generate or how quickly we can replace what has been washed away. We also need to ask whether what we build today will remain safe in the Nepal of 20 or 30 years from now.
The Bhotekoshi flood has taken lives, destroyed homes, and wiped out livelihoods. No amount of reconstruction can undo those losses. What the government can do is make sure the people who survived are not left to rebuild their lives alone.
Nepal should use every international mechanism available, including the Loss and Damage Fund, to secure the resources needed for recovery. The international community should also recognize that a country that has contributed little to the climate crisis should not have to carry the growing cost of its consequences alone.
Above all, those who survived the Bhotekoshi disaster must not become its forgotten victims.
