Rasuwagadhi, which is running on a regular basis, has been devastated by the flood in Bhotekoshi on Tuesday morning. Mainly in the vicinity of Rasuwagadhi, there has been human and physical damage. The bodies of 9 people have been found and at least 19 people, including 6 Chinese nationals, are missing.

All the residents of the lower coastal area of ​​Bhotekoshi river had to spend Tuesday in terror. Even if the flood flow is reduced, it will take a long time to reach the same level as before Tuesday. Not only the flood of Bhotekoshi, every calamity adds to the misery of people. Plans and dreams are shattered. Therefore, it is necessary to take serious measures for safe living so that the damage is reduced. This is the basic lesson of the devastation created by the Bhotekoshi flash flood.

The upheavals in nature and the devastation they create are sometimes foreseen, sometimes not. Human and physical damage can also be reduced by being aware of the forecast. There are those who take such information seriously and stay safe. Sometimes technology access and people's caution are not enough or the situation may be different from self assessment.

This is also the background of Tuesday's incident. This flood has swept away the Miteri bridge on the Nepal-China border. Four hydropower projects including Rasuwagadhi have been damaged. Container cars, trucks and electric vehicles were swept away along with the goods in the dry port. Traffic is blocked due to road collapse. Flooding has also affected low-lying areas. The army had to rescue two people trapped in the flood in Nuwakot by helicopter. It has been estimated that private houses, hotels, businesses, and crops along the river bank have also been heavily damaged.

Last October there was also a warning to take precautions with heavy rainfall forecast. But due to failure to take adequate precautions, there was a huge loss of human wealth. Sometimes a disaster occurs that is not projected and predicted. The current disaster in Rasuwagadhi area is similar. Because, there was no heavy rain for the past few days around the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung crossing in the Nepal-China border area, and there was no warning of floods/landslides either. Therefore, no obligation to take extra precautions or precautions was felt. But due to the sudden flood, the area around the river became a ruin.

On the night of June 1, 2078, the flood in the Melamchi river entered the settlement. As a result, human and physical damage was caused to Melamchi Bazar and the riverside settlements. Private houses, resorts and hotels, bridges were washed away. Police station, health post, bank, hydropower project were damaged. It was not possible for people to live and cultivate in the houses covered with sand.

Melamchi was flooded due to a variety of reasons ranging from glacial bursts to landslides. Similarly, on July 32, 2081, two out of five glaciers in the Khumbu area above Thame village of Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality-5 of Solukhumbu, caused a flood with ledo, which devastated the Thame settlement of the same rural municipality. Houses, schools, clinics and hotel buildings and the power house of the local electricity project were damaged.

2069 After the avalanche that hit the Annapurna snow range on 23 Baisakh, the water that had already been stored there was released. As a result, even on a sunny day, there was a flood in the Seti river. The Kharapani market area on the banks of Seti River was devastated. 

The exact cause of the sudden flood in Bhotekoshi on Tuesday is not yet clear. But in the Himalayan region, there are many incidents of snow melts, avalanches, large floods in rivers and destruction of coastal settlements. Due to sudden incidents, people do not even get time to reach a safe place. Floods and landslides are common in the mountains during the dry season. Landslides sometimes cause great damage in settlements.

In the Terai, floods and inundation are causing disaster. But after that, since the government's programs to facilitate the daily lives of the victims are not effective or are not prioritized, even the rehabilitation has not been possible for years. This is the common feeling of those who are affected by earthquakes, floods, landslides and floods.

Although lessons have been learned from incidents elsewhere and around us, it is necessary to adopt measures for safe living and mobility. Because, although we cannot change our geography and the hustle and bustle that happens here, we can make our lives comparatively safer. For that, only the efforts of individuals are not enough, so the policies of the state are also necessary. But we don't have a practical policy.