Kathmandu [Nepal], September 16 – The government has formed a seven-member expert panel to scientifically investigate the cause and origin of the devastating flood in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa.
The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation formed the panel on Wednesday under the coordination of water policy and governance expert Debesh Belbase. The panel includes experts in hydrology, glaciology, remote sensing, geology, hydropower infrastructure and disaster risk reduction.
The panel will conduct field studies from the suspected source of the flood to downstream areas to examine the sequence of events and the possible links among glacial, geological, hydrological and other hazards.
The ministry said the study will assess whether the disaster was caused by a chain of interacting hazards rather than ordinary flooding or excessive rainfall. It will also examine the possible role of human-induced climate change.
An earlier preliminary study found insufficient scientific evidence to establish where the disaster originated, what physical process triggered it and how it spread through the Bhotekoshi-Lhende river system.
The two-month study will examine weather and climate data, river flows, glaciers, geology, landslides, sediment movement and satellite imagery. Scientists will also assess available information from the Chinese side of the transboundary river system.
The panel will submit its findings based on scientific evidence after which the ministry plans to determine an appropriate scientific classification for the disaster.
