Kathmandu, Bhadra 17 - Following the Bhotekoshi flash floods on August 26, Nepal has mobilized its embassies and foreign missions to ensure specialist international assistance is available in the form of tunnel rescue teams, forensic and DNA experts, Bailey bridges, drones, and funding for climate change.
The Government of Nepal has stepped up the diplomatic efforts to communicate precise needs to foreign governments and development partners, which include instructing missions abroad to seek assistance with various technical teams such as tunnel rescue team, Bailey bridges, DNA, forensic team, high-capacity drones, DNA testing kits and other emergency equipment. Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said that political and diplomatic channels including Prime Minister's Office and all embassies have been opened to coordinate these needs with donor communities in Kathmandu.
There are already teams of specialized security forces in several countries. India is dispatching two teams of tunnel rescuers and a 19-member forensic investigator team with experience in DNA analysis, while China is dispatching tunnel-rescuers and extra forensic experts. A South Korean team is supporting at the affected hydropower sites and Nepal is arranging a Disaster Victim Identification team from Singapore. Japan has offered emergency aid, including tents and blankets, following a conversation between Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Prime Minister Balendra Shah on five Japanese nationals who were reported missing, but additional relief may be provided via international organizations and a Japanese disaster-relief team.
In addition to immediate rescue operations, Nepal is also looking for international finance for the reconstruction and losses due to climate change. The government has made an emergency call to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, a global mechanism for responding to loss and damage, which was set up to support countries that are highly vulnerable to climate impacts. A coalition of 44 least-developed nations (LDCs) has voiced solidarity with Nepal and urged enhanced international assistance for adaptation to and loss and damage from climate change. Meanwhile, the damage assessment is ongoing to the homes, roads, bridges, hydropower projects and other vital infrastructure. A comprehensive Post Disaster Needs Assessment is anticipated to assess the extent of losses and the reconstruction needs in Nepal.
The international mobilization is a step towards a new dimension of the problem which is recovery, resettlement and reconstruction, a much bigger task than immediate relief and rescue following one of Nepal's worst recent disasters.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
