THT 10 YEARS AGO: Floods continue to ravage Tarai

Kathmandu, July 27, 2007

Incessant rainfall and floods continue to ravage districts of the Tarai region, with floodwaters sweeping away hundreds of houses, knocking off electricity poles and inundating scores of VDCs and municipalities.

Districts like Sunsari, Morang, Saptari, Siraha, Bara, Rautahat, Nawalparasi, Banke and Bardiya are the worst hit. Mukund Upadhayaya, 60, of Saraswar-3 of Siraha district was swept away by the Kamala river today as he was returning from Saraswarnath Temple, a local Shrawan Yadav said. Some 1,575 families have been hit and 253 families are displaced in Banke district, the Banke chapter of Nepal Red Cross Society said. Rains and flood caused 101 houses to collapse in Nepalgunj municipality, Kamdi and Bankatwa VDCs.

Due to waterlogging, Nepalgunj bazaar is closed and consumer items are in short supply, Yagya Bahadur Basnet of Dhamboji said. As power supply has been cut off since yesterday morning, local newspapers in Nepalgunj didn’t hit the stands today. FM stations also stopped transmission, while government offices and schools were closed. People of Holiya and Betani VDCs have been marooned due to flood in the Rapti River, police said. “We will go to the flood-hit areas in a helicopter tomorrow,” acting CDO Krishna Acharya said.

A report from Bardiya said waters from the overflowing Babai River flooded hundreds of houses. Mohammedpur, Suryapatawa, Sorahawa, Nyalapur and Belawa VDCs and six wards of Gulariya municipality were inundated, while 40 houses collapsed in Sorhawaa VDC, police said.

The flood-hit have been putting up in school buildings, ASI Surendra Shah said. Floods also blocked the Gulariya-Nepalgunj road and knocked down electricity poles. In Sunsari, floods have swept away 155 houses.

Relief for disaster-hit

Kathmandu, July 27, 2007

The government today announced an immediate relief package for the victims of floods and landslides.

Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula today informed the Parliament about the formation of a Natural Disaster Victims Relief Fund and management committees under the coordination of joint-secretary Pratap Kumar Pathak. Sitaula said the committees have initiated relief measures in the flood and landslide affected districts.

“However, the committees have not been able to work smoothly in distributing the relief materials due to the adverse weather conditions in some parts of the country,” Sitaula told today’s session of the Parliament. He said that the government has decided to provide immediate compensation of Rs 15,000 each to the families of those who are killed due to floods and landslides.

He also said the government has decided to provide Rs 10,000 each to those whose houses have been completely destroyed and Rs 5,000 to those whose houses have been partially damaged.