The region has experienced an economic boom
even as natural disasters have repeatedly struck, including a flood that killed
more than 160 people on Wednesday.
·
Over
160 people killed in a
devastating flood in Rasuwa district, northern
Nepal, near the Tibet border; hundreds remain missing.
·
The
disaster struck a region that has recently experienced rapid economic and infrastructure
development.
·
Natural-disaster
risks are rising, with
floods and landslides common during Nepal’s monsoon season.
·
Climate
change is
worsening vulnerability by raising temperatures and affecting Himalayan
glaciers.
·
The
region has become increasingly important to Nepal-China trade and connectivity.
·
Trade
routes and border crossings with China
have expanded in recent years.
·
Chinese-backed
hydropower projects have
increased economic activity in the area.
·
Northern
Nepal has also emerged as an entry
point for Chinese electric vehicles imported into the country.
·
The
economic expansion has attracted new
residents, workers and businesses, creating what experts
describe as an economic boom.
·
However,
the river valley remains one of Nepal’s most
disaster-prone corridors, creating a major development
challenge.
·
A flood last year destroyed the Friendship
Bridge, an important Nepal-China trade and transport link.
·
The 2015 earthquake, which
killed nearly 9,000 people, was another major setback for the region.
·
Around
50,000 people
live in Rasuwa district, according to Nepal’s 2021
census; the region has a significant Tamang population.
·
About
400 foreign tourists were
reported missing, many of them Indians travelling for pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet.
·
Tourism
had only recently recovered after disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and India-China border
tensions.
·
The
latest disaster could therefore become another setback for tourism, cross-border trade and infrastructure
development.
·
Key
takeaway:
Northern Nepal’s growing integration with China is generating economic
opportunities, but increasingly severe natural-disaster risks highlight the
urgent need for climate
resilience and disaster-proof infrastructure.
The
quiet mountain valley in northern Nepal seemed ready for reinvention. Trade routes
and hydropower projects were expanding as diplomatic tensions eased. Tourism was
surging back.
Then
the floodwaters came.
On
Wednesday, a devastating deluge killed more than 160 people in the valley, part
of the Rasuwa district near Nepal’s border with Tibet.
Hundreds more remain missing as rescuers struggle to navigate the devastation.
Scientists
are still trying to determine what circumstances led to the surging waters on Wednesday,
but natural disasters have repeatedly set the region back, even as it has undergone
rapid development.
“This
is a very vulnerable region,” said Galen Murton, a geographer at James Madison University
who has studied Nepal’s infrastructure, referring to the area’s susceptibility for
natural disasters. “It creates a huge paradox.”
Floods
and landslides are common in northern Nepal during the summer’s monsoon season.
Scientists say the area is becoming even more prone to natural disasters as climate
change raises temperatures that compromise the region’s towering glaciers.
A
deadly flood last year swept away the Friendship Bridge, a crucial trade and transportation
link between Nepal and China. In 2015, an earthquake in the region killed nearly
9,000 people.
“People
here have lived with risks for centuries,” said Austin Lord, an anthropologist and
senior fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington who
has studied natural disasters in Nepal. “But the risks are changing.”
Around
50,000 people live in the rural district, according to Nepal’s 2021 census, the
latest available data. The Himalayan region is home to a large population of Tamang
people, an ethnic minority in Nepal, Mr. Lord said.
Many
others have moved to the region over the past decade as major development has picked
up and Nepal has shifted away from its traditional reliance on India by pursuing
more business with China, Mr. Murton said. Trade routes, border crossings into China
and Chinese-backed hydropower projects have expanded. The area has also grown in
importance as an entry point for Chinese electric vehicles imported into Nepal.
The
result has been an “economic boom,” Mr. Lord said. “There are a lot of opportunities”
that have attracted more people to the region, he added. But the risks are still
great. The river valley is one of the country’s “most vulnerable corridors” to natural
disasters, he said.
Nepal’s
government has not yet released details about those killed in the flood, but it
said the missing included local residents, border security workers and employees
at government agencies. Mr. Lord said the toll was also likely to include residents
of small settlements near the river, laborers working in the border economy and
truck drivers.
Around
400 foreign tourists were also missing, according to Nepali officials, many of them
from India. Hundreds had been visiting Nepal on a Hindu pilgrimage to Mount Kailash,
a Himalayan peak across the border in Tibet that is revered as the spiritual home
of the god Shiva.
Access
to the area and other popular sites in the region resumed only in the past few years.
Tourism had slowed to a trickle during the coronavirus pandemic and amid disputes
between India and China over the border region.
It
had recently picked up again.