Nepal floods 'unprecedented', requires new 'engineering approaches, risk-sensitive urban planning'

Nepal's recent flooding was unprecedented, according to Dr. Basanta Raj Adhikari, Director of the Center for Disaster Studies at Tribhuvan University's Institute of Engineering. He tells France 24 that flood velocities reached an estimated one hundred seventy to one hundred eighty kilometres per hour, and that hazards ranging from ice and snow avalanches to glacial lake outburst floods make comprehensive monitoring of the country's steep, complex mountain terrain effectively impossible. Rather than trying to predict every extreme event, Adhikari argues Nepal should identify high-risk hotspots via satellite observation, back them up with ground-based monitoring and early-warning systems, and fold that knowledge into risk-sensitive land-use planning.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton