Nepal’s devastating flood exposes the risks of resettling disaster survivors

KHALTE, Nepal (AP) — When the flood came, Chheku Lama ran uphill, shouting for people to flee. A group followed him, but none survived, he said. Lama’s Khalte village in Nepal’s Rasuwa district had been set up as a temporary settlement after a 2015 earthquake destroyed nearby villages.

But it offered little protection from floods, with homes clustered along the Trishuli River in a narrow valley. When the floodwaters surged through on Aug. 26, residents had few routes to escape.

At least 375 people were reported missing, according to residents. Nepal is still recovering from the devastating floods that killed more than 1,400 people and left thousands missing in its mountainous border region with China. Another flash flood in north-central Nepal last week left at least five people missing.

Over the past decade, tens of thousands of people in Nepal have been displaced by earthquakes, landslides and floods, only to face new risks in temporary settlements built in vulnerable areas. Khalte’s destruction highlights those dangers. Survivors say the government must go beyond emergency relief and temporary shelter to provide safe, permanent places where displaced people can rebuild their lives.

Khalte’s destruction exposes the risks of unsafe resettlement The 2015 earthquake, which killed nearly 9,000 people nationwide, destroyed villages where many families had lived for generations. Under a government relocation plan, about 257 vulnerable households were moved to Khalte, which geological assessments later classified as a “red zone” because of landslide and avalanche risks. Bam Bahadur Tamang, a Khalte resident now living in a government relief center, said he and many others had opposed the decision to resettle them there but they were eventually forced to move.

He said any new relocation must account for both safety and access to basic services. “Wherever the government resettles us now, it must first ensure that the place is safe,” he said. “We are not cattle to be moved from one place to another.” Tamang’s worries point to a challenge that extends beyond finding safe ground.