Nepal’s flood alert came 16 minutes late

Nepal received notification of a devastating flood around 16 minutes after it crossed the border from Tibet, according to officials from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, reported Nepal News. The flood entered Nepal at approximately 8:40 am on Wednesday and reached the town of Syabrubesi within 10 minutes. The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology was informed at around 8:56 am through the Rasuwa District Administration Office and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

Shortly before 9 am, the department sent SMS alerts to communities along the river, but the warning came after the flood had already begun its destructive path through the upper part of Rasuwa district. The hydrologist, Sauharda Joshi, stated that if the warning had arrived earlier, the human casualties could have been significantly minimized.

The alert helped communities downstream, as Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Nuwakot evacuated its 1,650 students to higher ground during morning assembly. However, the warning also highlighted its limitations, as it was ineffective when people were traveling or evacuation plans were not in place. The flood was caused by a suspected ice-rock avalanche and landslide near the Nepal-China border, which led to a sudden surge of mud, water, and boulders downstream, rising water levels in the Trishuli River by several meters within 30 minutes.

Despite the existence of a theoretical 20-minute warning window, limited monitoring equipment and the fact that the disaster occurred close to the border meant that Nepal received information too late to protect many people in upper Rasuwa.