Himalaya-landet Nepal er et af de mest udsatte i verden for naturkatastrofer – alligevel lader katastrofeberedskabet meget tilbage at ønske, senest illustreret ved et jordskred, som begravede en hel landsby, hvor hundreder savnes.
KATHMANDU, 7 August 2014 (IRIN): A landslide in Nepal on 2 August killed more than 150 and search and rescue has ended. Experts say this event, one of the deadliest in the country’s recent history, is a wake-up call for hazard mapping, early warning, and disaster management.
“The scale of human casualties in terms of fatal incidents is enormous and this is appalling,” Nepal Red Cross Society’s (NRCS) disaster risk reduction coordinator Krishna KC told IRIN.
During the early morning of 2 August, a 1.9 km long slope of land perched (beliggende) 1,350 metres above the Sun Koshi river collapsed, according to an evaluationreport by the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
Seven hundred and fifty personnel from the Nepal Army and Armed Police Force (a paramilitary unit) are continuing search and rescue efforts in the area, around 200 km northeast Kathmandu.
One of the highest death tolls since 1950s
“We are shocked with the number of deaths and there are still hundreds of people missing and our teams are desperately searching for them night and day,” said Laxmi Dhakal, spokesman at the Ministry of Home Affairs, told IRIN on 6 August.
According to NRCS, the disaster caused one of the highest death tolls due to a landslide in a single village in Nepal’s history since records began in the 1950s.
In the past decade landslides have killed over 1,300 people and destroyed 10,000 houses, according to NRCS.
Government officials and scientists from ICIMOD and UN agencies have travelled to the affected area to support the ongoing response efforts and research how prevention and preparedness can be improved in what the Asia Disaster Preparedness Center calls one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.
Flood risks
Læs videre på http://www.irinnews.org/report/100451/nepal-landslide-deaths-highlight-disaster-risk-reduction-gaps
