Nepal is still processing the devastation caused by the August 26 Bhotekoshi flash flood, and Gorkha district’s Budhigandaki River was inundated on Sunday morning. The flood-swollen river has caused widespread damage in Chumnubri and Dharche rural municipalities. It has reportedly swept away nearly 35 to 40 houses in Salleri and Ghattikhola in Chumnubri, as well as bridges and some infrastructure at the under-construction Budhigandaki hydropower project. Five people are missing.

While authorities are still assessing the full scope of the damage, this flood has yet again reminded Nepal of the devastation flash floods can bring to downstream communities. Given how frequent and devastating these disasters have become, and how rising temperatures and climate change have exacerbated them, Nepal should ramp up efforts to prevent further loss of life and livelihoods in downstream settlements by planning the resettlement of high-risk areas. 

Following the Bhotekoshi flood, the government marked areas where waters reached extreme heights as ‘danger zones’. Acknowledging the risk of future disasters, Nepal has decided to resettle around 33,000 people in safer areas. While this move is commendable, it is time to move beyond post-disaster resettlement plans, which have often been a priority in the country. People have long settled near rivers; even major roads and highways run along them, and markets have flourished there. But the infrastructure, houses, buildings, bridges and roads aren’t strong enough to withstand floods as massive as the ones that struck Bhotekoshi and Budhigandaki. 

These floods have made clear that settlements near the likely path of glacial floods are unsafe. According to reports, around a dozen settlements along the Kaligandaki River in Baglung district are also at risk of sudden inundation from landslides and glacial hazards upstream. Nepal’s Disaster Authority has classified 10 of Pokhara’s wards, along with Annapurna and Machhapuchhre Rural Municipalities, as high risk for floods and landslides. But these are only a few examples. Worst of all, reports say that among the 47 lakes across Nepal, Tibet and India at high risk of outburst, 21 lie in Nepal. Many such lakes haven’t even been studied. These warnings shouldn’t be taken lightly. The government decided to lower the water level of some glacier lakes this fiscal year, but that will not be enough.

The government’s decision to introduce a legal provision to relocate settlements in disaster-prone areas—if planned well without compromising people’s right to appropriate housing—gives the country an opportunity to save thousands of people living downstream. Any relocation programmes must guarantee safe and sustainable housing, resilient infrastructure and livelihood opportunities. It is also vital to ensure the resettlement plan doesn’t force the community to move without providing the land and opportunities needed to settle in a new place. For instance, those living in the riverside settlements in Baglung and Pokhara must be made aware of future risks and given choices about where they can resettle. 

Resettlement cannot happen overnight. It is a complex and time-consuming, long-term process. It must therefore be done in stages, with early warning systems strengthened and glacial lakes and potential river blocks in upstream areas monitored during the transition period. As climate change grows more dangerous and brings disastrous natural calamities, it has become increasingly necessary to build resilience through resettlement approaches. We cannot afford to take this matter lightly.