Monsoon to adversely hit 2 mn in Nepal

As many as two million people from 4,50,000 households may be affected this year by monsoon-related disasters in Nepal, according to an official forecast on Sunday.

The forecast was made in the proposed Monsoon Preparedness and Response National Action Plan, prepared by analysing all the related factors based on the data released by the Department of Meteorology.

“We have estimated that around two million people would be affected in the coming monsoon. All seven provinces of the country would be affected, so sector-wide responsibilities have been delegated for the preparedness,” said National Disaster Risk Response and Management Authority (NDRRMA) spokesperson Ram Bahadur KC. He added that 450,000 households might also be affected.

KC said that that the action plan was charted out with the estimation that 10 per cent of the affected people might require rescue and relief works.

The national action plan would be presented in the meeting of the executive committee of the NDRRMA on May 28, he said, adding that it would come into effect after its endorsement.

The proposed plan has put forth the actions, including monthly monitoring, evaluation and review of the disaster, KC said. According to official forecast, Nepal would receive extreme rainfall with lower minimum and higher maximum temperatures.