Nepal lies in a disaster-prone zone. Because of its rugged terrain, complex geology, varying climates, active tectonic activity, unplanned settlements, increasing population, economic backwardness, and low literacy, Nepal is vulnerable to various man-made and natural disasters. Geographic and climatic conditions make Nepal vulnerable to hazards like earthquakes, floods, landslides and fires.

Though earthquakes are not recurrent, Nepal has lost over 11,000 people in four major quakes. The Kathmandu Valley is at the highest risk. A study shows that if a quake of 8 Richter scale strikes the Valley, 21 per cent of the buildings might be damaged with a potential death toll of 1.3 per cent of total population, with 3.8 per cent injured. Seismic record indicates that a destructive earthquake occurs every 75 years. It last occurred in 1934 and the next is due around 2009. Old houses, traditional buildings and religiously and culturally important monuments are at a high risk.

Floods and landslides occur during monsoons. Mid-hills are prone to landslides and soil erosion while there are higher risks of floods in the Terai. Every year, many villages are hit by landslides and floods that damage property, lives, agricultural land and the harvest. It also breaks down the network of roads, supply of electricity, bridges and irrigation canals. The landslides block highways and make access to disaster sites a challenging task. Incidents of fire are common in the dry season. It is common in rural Terai and hilly regions, home to 90 per cent of the population.

“Local Self Governance Act” 1999 gave fresh momentum to the decentralisation process and devolution of authority by empowering local governments to undertake disaster management activities. The Central Disaster Relief Committee (CDRC) built for the purpose is headed by the Home Ministry with the involvement of other line ministries like Health, Physical Planning and Works, Local Development along with Nepal Police, Nepali Army, Nepal Red Cross and Nepal Scouts. At the district level, there is a disaster management committee but these bodies have been largely ineffective because of poor implementation of policies.

Decentralisation of the disaster management system at the district and village levels is also not effective. The challenge lies in coordinating efforts of all those involved. Most victims avail no emergency service. There are no proper preventive, rehabilitation and support programmes. Appraisal of development projects is weak, so is focus on preventive measures. Prior information and warning equipment are equally in short supply. There is also a dearth of topographic surveys of the disaster-prone areas.

Two methods can be applied: disaster risk reduction and emergency response. Disaster risk reduction includes awareness programmes, pre-information and the warning system. Nepal should be prepared for relief and rescue operations. For this, the responsibility of disaster risk management should be devolved to district and village levels.