Expert panel formed to scientifically study Rasuwa Flood

Kathmandu, September 16

The government has formed a seven-member expert committee to scientifically investigate the causes and sequence of events behind the devastating flood in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa.

The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation formed the committee on Wednesday under the coordination of water policy and governance expert Devesh Belbase.

The committee includes hydrologist Dr Narendra Man Shakya, glaciologist Dr Rijanbhakta Kayastha, remote sensing expert Dr Uttam Babu Shrestha, geologist Dr Megh Raj Dhital, hydropower infrastructure expert Dr Hari Pandit and disaster risk reduction expert Anil Pokharel.

The committee will conduct field studies from the flood’s source area to the downstream river corridor. It will examine the origin and progression of the flood, Himalayan geological and glacial risks, hydrological processes and the possible role of climate change.

The ministry said the flood would be studied as a potential “cascading disaster” involving interconnected geological, glacial, hydrological and other hazards rather than simply as a result of heavy rainfall.

A preliminary study by the Hydrology and Water Resources Research Center found insufficient scientific evidence to verify where the flood originated and how the physical processes spread through the Bhotekoshi-Lhende river system.

The study will be conducted in three phases, covering the event’s chronology and physical damage, immediate and underlying causes, and the extent to which human-induced climate change may have influenced the risks and their intensity. It will also examine measures to strengthen long-term disaster preparedness and hydropower resilience.

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