What caused Nepal’s devastating flood damage and how was it contained?

Heavy rains person resulted successful terrible flooding and landslides successful Nepal and India’s eastbound Himalayan metropolis of Darjeeling successful the past fewer days.

Dozens of radical person been killed successful landslides successful Nepal’s eastbound hilly territory of Ilam, which borders India. Local media reported that 41 families person been displaced successful Nepal.

However, the authorities of Nepal’s interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki was praised for its effect to the floods. Experts credited it with keeping deaths and demolition to a minimum.

Here is what we know.

How overmuch rainfall has Nepal had?

Heavy downpours began connected October 3, and information from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) amusement that immoderate parts of Nepal experienced dense rainfall. While the wide rainfall was somewhat little than last year, the demolition has inactive been atrocious due to the fact that of “ultra-localised” dense rains.

Pawan Bhattarai, an adjunct prof astatine the civilian engineering section of Kathmandu-based Tribhuvan University, told Al Jazeera that respective districts successful the central-eastern Terai plains and eastbound hills bore the brunt of the storm, with upwind stations successful Rautahat and Ilam signaling much than 330mm and 300mm of rain, respectively, connected Saturday and Sunday.

Rainfall is usually considered highly dense if determination is much than 150mm successful 24 hours.

In the capital, Kathmandu, immoderate districts received somewhat much than 145mm of rainfall connected Sunday compared with roughly 240mm successful precocious September past year, erstwhile Kathmandu Valley experienced its heaviest deluge since 2002. Some parts of Kathmandu recorded arsenic overmuch arsenic 322.2mm of rainfall past year, erstwhile the floods killed more than 200 people.

(Al Jazeera)

What caused the floods and landslides this year?

Various factors triggered the devastating floods this year.

Monsoon winds

Bhattarai explained that the flooding and landslides were an result of “an exceptionally aggravated and concentrated monsoon downpour”, which was caused by moisture-laden monsoon winds entering Nepal from the Bay of Bengal done the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

As a result, precise precocious amounts of rainfall fell successful a abbreviated play of clip successful ultra-localised areas. Some areas received a batch of rainfall implicit a abbreviated duration, portion different parts remained mostly dry.

Topography

Compounding this, the topography of immoderate regions successful the state is not suited to dense downpours, Bhattarai said. “The monolithic measurement of h2o overwhelmed the level plains of districts similar Rautahat, Bara and Parsa, causing wide flooding.”

These 3 districts are successful the Madhesh state successful the mid-south of Nepal, bordering India. They are situated connected the Terai plains – a flat, arable country – making it susceptible to flooding due to the fact that they person small to nary elevation to redirect floodwater.

“Simultaneously, the aforesaid aggravated rainfall destabilised the steep slopes of hilly districts similar Ilam, triggering the fatal landslides. In contrast, different areas similar Kathmandu received importantly little rain, highlighting the localised quality of this utmost upwind event,” helium added.

Poor infrastructure

“Unscientific infrastructure improvement – specified arsenic roadworthy expansions that destabilise slopes – and encroachment connected earthy landscapes person amplified the damage,” Bhattarai said.

He explained that the recurring landslides connected the Narayangadh-Mugling road person been exacerbated by inadequate planning, poorly designed roadwork and a deficiency of due safeguards.

The Narayangadh-Mugling road successful cardinal Nepal experiences landslides reasonably frequently, with the past 1 reported connected September 23, causing regular postulation disruptions.

Climate change

While the magnitude of rainfall that fell successful Nepal was not unusually precocious this year, the accrued frequence of aggravated upwind successful the state is astir apt linked to clime change, Bhattarai said.

“Such utmost monsoon events are highly antithetic and a large concern. This signifier of back-to-back aggravated flooding – past September and again this twelvemonth – is accordant with the effects of clime change, which is intensifying the hydrological rhythm and making terrible upwind events much frequent.”

Army unit assistance radical retrieve their belongings and determination to a harmless country astatine a flooded thoroughfare on the slope of overflowing Bagmati River pursuing dense rains, successful Kathmandu, October 4, 2025 [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]

How has the authorities responded to the flooding?

Nepal has been contending with a hard governmental concern successful caller weeks.

On September 8, protests erupted successful Kathmandu and different cities against corruption and nepotism. These “Gen Z” protests led by young radical resulted successful violence, galore deaths and, ultimately, the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The service was deployed, and erstwhile Chief Justice Sushila Karki, 73, was chosen arsenic interim PM.

She has been praised for the interim government’s preemptive effect to the floods. Experts accidental the authorities responded promptly to upwind forecasts from the meteorological department, issuing aboriginal warnings, ordering roadworthy closures and halting postulation connected main roads and highways successful beforehand of the flooding.

The actions that won appreciation successful peculiar included:

• Police successful Kathmandu announced connected loudspeakers that areas extracurricular the metropolis were susceptible to flooding and landslides, and urged radical not to permission the city.
• Energy Minister Kulman Ghising, who oversees the Ministry of Urban Development, inspected the highways that were severely damaged by the floods past year. Ghising issued a directive to restrict vehicular question crossed these routes.
• The authorities stationed method unit and excavators successful beforehand successful susceptible areas.
• A two-day nationalist vacation was declared connected Sunday and Monday arsenic a precautionary measure.
• Army unit were dispatched to assistance radical determination their belongings to different areas.

Damage was inactive extensive, however, said Bhattarai. “These efforts proceed to look important logistical challenges. Widespread harm to captious infrastructure has inherently hindered rebuilding and alleviation operations. While the governmental volition for a coordinated effect was present, the sheer standard of the carnal demolition remains a large obstacle to recovery,” helium said.

How could the catastrophe effect beryllium improved?

“While timely warnings and evacuation systems tin importantly trim quality casualties from floods, this lawsuit highlights a captious spread successful mitigating landslide fatalities, which are acold much abrupt and deadly,” Bhattarai said.

“To forestall aboriginal disasters, a large displacement successful argumentation and signifier is urgently needed. This indispensable prioritise broad watershed management, focusing connected stabilising slopes and managing h2o run-off, which has been a persistently neglected country successful our existent attack to catastrophe hazard reduction.”

How does this comparison with the government’s effect past year?

The interim government’s effect has been praised by many, including Sumana Shrestha, a curate successful the erstwhile government. She said the interim authorities performed overmuch amended than the Oli government’s effect past year, The Kathmandu Post reported.

When the floods deed Nepal past year, Oli was successful New York to be the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He was criticised for not returning location to woody with the flooding.

When helium returned, helium said it was pointless to criticise the authorities for immoderate delays successful rescue operations, arguing that adjacent upwind forecasters could not precisely foretell the locations of landslides.

However, Shanti Mahat, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), cautioned against drafting speedy conclusions astir the erstwhile year’s effect arsenic rainfall had been higher. She added that a smaller magnitude of rainfall mightiness person prevented flooding altogether.

Furthermore, Anil Pokhrel, the erstwhile enforcement manager of NDRRMA, said portion immoderate precautions were taken past year, authorities orders to adjacent roads and halt postulation were not afloat enforced.

“Last year, too, we had decided to adjacent roads to trim risk, but due to the fact that those decisions were not enforced, the state suffered dense quality losses,” Pokhrel told The Kathmandu Post.

This year, the nationalist had memories of past year’s floods and took authorities orders seriously. “The caller experiences from past twelvemonth made it easier for the authorities this clip to marque speedy decisions, which helped support the harm lower,” Pokhrel said.

“This time, radical look to person learned from past year’s experience, which made the concern somewhat easier to handle,” Mahat told The Kathmandu Post.

What is the existent concern successful Nepal?

The magnitude of rainfall successful Nepal had reduced importantly by Tuesday.

Districts successful Kathmandu person received little than 5mm of rainfall successful the 24 hours since Monday. The highest magnitude of rainfall recorded connected Tuesday was much than 84mm successful the Marin Khola presumption astatine Kusuntar successful the Sindhuli territory successful the southeastern hills of Bagmati province.

A antheral carries a container arsenic helium wades done a flooded thoroughfare on the slope of the overflowing Bagmati pursuing dense rains, successful Kathmandu, October 4, 2025 [Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]

What happened successful India?

The downpours besides resulted successful deaths and demolition crossed the borderline successful northeastern India.

Officials said 28 radical were killed successful storms. The metropolis of Darjeeling successful West Bengal was deed the hardest.

“Landslides person been reported from 35 locations successful the hills of Darjeeling and much than 100 houses person been destroyed,” Praween Prakash, a West Bengal authorities constabulary official, told the AFP quality agency.

HR Biswas, the determination upwind main successful Kolkata, stated that aft past weekend’s “extremely heavy” rainfall successful Darjeeling, much rainfall is expected successful the coming days.