GOVERNMENT OF NEPAL Ministry of Home Affairs NEPAL DISASTER R E P O R T 2 0 0 9 The Hazardscape and Vulnerability Nepal Disaster Report: The Hazardscape and Vulnerability Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and Nepal Disaster Preparedness Network- Nepal. (DPNet) Published by Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of Nepal and Disaster Preparedness Network- Nepal with support from European Commission through its Humanitarian Aid department, United Nations Development Nepal and Oxfam Nepal Any part of this publication may be cited, copied, translated into other languages or adapted to meet local needs without prior permission from Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and Nepal Disaster Preparedness Network-Nepal, (DPNet) provided that the source is clearly stated. ISBN: 9937-2-1301-1 Printed in Nepal by: Jagadamba Press Design and layout by: WordScape, +977 1 5526699 Content Preface List of Tables List of Boxes List of Figures Acronyms Chapter 1: Nepal in the Himalaya-Ganga 1 Physical context 5 Climate and rainfall 11 A disaster hot spot 15 Climate change scenario 25 Objectives of the report 28 Approach to NDR 28 Chapter 2: Disaster Risk Reduction: Conceptual Foundation 31 Disaster cycle 36 Chapter 3: Floods and Flood Management 48 Floods: national context 52 Causes of floods in Nepal 54 Floods in the Bagmati and other rivers, 1993 58 Koshi inundation, 2008 58 Flood in Western Nepal, 2008 59 Recognition of the problem 60 Flood management in Nepal 62 Glacier lake outburst floods (GLOF) 64 Ways forward 68 Chapter 4: Landslides 71 Causes of landslides 75 Mitigation/prevention efforts 85 Rescue and relief 89 Ways forward 90 N EPAL D ISASTER R EPORT Chapter 5: Drought 93 Droughts in Nepal 95 Ways forward 101 Chapter 6: Earthquakes 104 Causes 104 Magnitude and Intensity 107 Earthquakes in Nepal 108 Research on active faults in Nepal 110 Losses due to earthquakes 114 Management of earthquake disasters 116 Ways forward 122 Chapter 7: Fire Disasters 125 Losses due to fire disasters 125 Recent fire disasters 126 Management of fires Hazard 128 Forest fires 132 Ways forward 133 Chapter 8: Other Disasters 135 Road and air accidents 136 Key lessons 143 Health-related disasters 144 Ways forward 150 Chapter 9: Legislation and institutions 151 Natural Calamity Relief Act, 1982 153 Local Self-Governance Act, 1999 155 Channelling funds 156 Deficiencies in disaster management institutions 160 Ways forward 161 Chapter 10: Conclusions 167 Bibliographical references 171 List of Figures Figure 1.1: Nepal in Himalaya Ganga System 2 Figure 1.2: Physiographic sub divisions of Nepal 5 Figure 1.3: In Mid-Western Nepal, the northernedge of the Ganga plain (the Tarai) in the forefront and the Chure Range in the background 7 Figure 1.4: The rugged topography of the Chure range in Western Nepal 8 Figure 1.5: Main structural features and geologic divisions of the Himalaya 8 Figure 1.6: Northward movement of Indian plate across the Tethys Sea. 9 Figure 1.7: A north-south topographic profile across eastern Nepal between Rajbiraj town in the south to Mount Everest in the north. 9 Figure 1.8: Geological map of Nepal 11 Figure 1.9: Distribution of the highest 24-hour rainfall events (higher than 100 mm) across Nepal. 12 Figure 1.10: Global distribution of highest risk disaster hotspots by hazard type measured in terms of total economic loss risks. 19 Figure 2.1: Interrelationship among flood hazard, vulnerability and risk 33 Figure 2.2: Disaster cycle 37 Figure 3.1A: Death caused by various disasters (1983-2005) in % 50 Figure 3.1B: Eastimated loss due to disasters 92001-2007) in NRs 51 Figure 4.1: The components of a landslide morphology 71 N EPAL D ISASTER R EPORT Figure 4.2: Diagrammatic illustration of all types of Landslides. 72 Figure 4.3: A rotational slide on the right bank of Bhote Koshi River, Kodari Highway 73 Figure 4.4: Principal failures of a soil slide-debris flow 74 Figure 4.5: Debris flow at Matatirtha, Kathmandu Valley 76 Figure 4.6: Debris flow at Bagarchhap, Manang District, Nepal 77 Figure 4.7: Rainfall threshold for peak sediment load in Khudi Khola 80 Figure 4.8: Landslide hazard map of Nepal 83 Figure 4.9: Structural mitigation measures pursued by DWIDP 86 Figure 4.10: Non-structural mitigation measures 87 Figure 6.1: Details used to describe the location of an earthquake 106 Figure 6.2: Plate boundaries and the global distribution of earthquake zones in the world 107 Figure 6.3: The seismic gaps in the Himalaya 109 Figure 6.4: The distribution of active faults in Nepal 111 Figure 6.5: The lake which once covered Kathmandu Valley 111 Figure 6.6: A north-south geological cross- section of Kathmandu Valley showing the nature of sediment deposits 111 Figure 8.1: Accidents by region 137 List of Tables Table 1.1a: Matrix of Development Indicators 4 Table 1.1b: Matrix of development indicators 4 Table 1.2: Geomorphic and climatological characteristics of Nepal 6 Table 1.3: Social characteristics of Nepal 6 Table 1.4: Selected extreme rainfall events 13 Table 1.5a: Disaster Losses in Nepal during 1971-2006 (37 years) 15 Table 1.5b: Loss of lives due to various disasters in Nepal from 1983 to 2005 (22 years) 16 Table 1.5c: Disaster wise estimated losses (2001-2007) NRs x 106 16 Table 1.5d: Global deaths resulting as a consequence of natural hazards, 1988-2007 19 Table 2.1: Perspectives on disaster management 36 Table 3.1: Maor floods in human history 51 Table 3.2: Recent floods in Nepal 53 Table 4.1: Classification of landslides (Varnes 1978) 72 Table 4.2: Landslides in 2007 and related death and damage 84 Table 4.3: Status of old landslides treated with mitigation measures 87 Table 5.1: Drought scenario in Nepal 98 Table 6.1: Frequency of earthquakes and their effects based on the Richter scale 108 Table 6.2: Major earthquakes of last 25 years 114 Table 6.3: Losses from earthquakes 115 Table 8.1: Impacts of road accidents 137 Table 8.2: Impact of accidents in the last six months of 2008 140 Table 8.3: Worldwide aircraft accidents (from 1945 to 20 May 2007) 141 Table 8.4: Aircraft accident in Nepal 142 Table 8.5: Disease morbidity in Nepal 144 Table 8.6: Dermatoses in Bara District 146 N EPAL D ISASTER R EPORT List of Boxes Box 1.1: Administrative divisions 10 Box 1.2: Types of natural and human-induced hazards in Nepal 17 Box 1.3: Economic loss caused by disaster 21 Box 2.1: Nepal’s DesInventar database 38 Box 2.2: Disaster and poverty 42 Box 3.1: Border inundation 53 Box 3.2: Flood forecasting/early warning system 55 Box 3.3: Role of local hazard maps in flood disaster mitigation 56 Box 3.4: GLOF Mitigation 64 Box 3.5: Regional flood issues 66 Box 4.1: Landslides Relief in Bajura District 89 Box 5.1: Types of drought 94 Box 5.2: Recent drought in Nepal 95 Box 5.3: Food crisis in the Far-West 99 Box 5.4: Enhancing the resilience of the agricultural sector 102 Box 6.1: Kathmandu Valley earthquake damage scenario 112 Box 6.2: Retrofitting schools to resist earthquakes 115 Box 6.3: Vibrating table to demonstrate earthquake resistant and earthquake vulnerable construction 119 Box 7.1: Community-based disaster management 132 Box 8.1: Mobile phone hazard during driving 136 Box 8.2: Psychological consequences of disaster 138 Box 8.3: Safety lapses at public gatherings 140 Box 8.4: Addressing the needs of persons with disabilities in DRR activities 147 Box 9.1: Multi-stakeholder forum 152 Box 9.2: HFA and Nepal 154 Box 9.3: Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into development 162 Box 9.4: Civil society proposes disaster management policy 164 Box 9.5: National Network of Disaster-Affected Communities (N-DAC) 166 Box 10.1: Disaster knowledge and education 168 Box 10.2: Disseminating DRR materials in vernacular 169 N EPAL D ISASTER R EPORT Chief Editor Mr. Ajaya Dixit Editorial Team Mr. Ajaya Dixit Mr. Bishnu Kharel Dr. Ghulam Sherani Prof. Dr. Jiba Raj Pokharel Mr. Ram Chandra Neupane Dr. Ramesh Man Tuladhar Mr. Shyam Sundar Jnavaly Mr Thir Bahadur GC List of Contributors Mr. Ajaya Chandra Lal Mr. Ajaya Dixit Prof. Dr. Bishal Nath Upreti Mr. Bishnu Prasad Kharel Mr. Daya Ram Pokharel Mr. Deeb Raj Rai Mr. Dhruba Devekota Prof. Dinesh Raj Panta Mr. Dipendra Purush Dhakal Ms. Jwala Panday Prof. Dr. Jiba Raj Pokharel Mr. Kanchan Dixit Mr. Krishna P. Kafle Mr. Madav P. Thakur Dr. Meen Bahadur Poudel Chhetri Mr. Murari Binod Pokharel Mr. Pawan Bhattarai Mr. Punya Sagar Marahatta Mr. Ram Chandra Neupane Mr. Ramesh K. Maharjan Dr. Ramesh Man Tuladhar Ms. Samjhana Lamichhane Mr. Shyam Sundar Jnavaly Ms. Sudha Shrestha Mr. Sudip Kumar Shrestha Mr. Tirtha Raj Onta Mr. Umesh Pradhan Preface Nepal Disaster Report: The hazardscape and vulnerabilities is an indication of Nepal’s resolve to tackle the challenges posed by natural disasters. For a country facing the difficulties of socio- economic development, efforts to address the risks of disasters are necessary because disasters undermine social and economic well-being. By highlighting challenges and presenting the way forward, this report shows the growing sense of urgency and the need for seriousness in reducing disaster risks in Nepal. The preparation of the report highlights the concerns of disaster mitigation and by presenting the hazardscape and vulnerabilities of its people, attempts to provide a glimpse of the challenges facing the country.