The humanitarian response to the flash flood disaster in Nepal has saved hundreds of lives. Co-ordinated rescue teams and doctors have picked up people and delivered them to nearby hospitals.
The disaster struck on the morning of 26 August, sweeping away settlements beside the Trishuli River for up to 72km downstream.
An MSF (Médecins sans Frontières) emergency team arrived in Nepal following the flood. According to reports, at least 1,000 people have been killed, with more than 3,900 still missing.
After assessing the situation, MSF decided not to launch a humanitarian response, saying: ‘Our expertise does not lie in the recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction activities that people in Nepal now need. We extend our admiration and respect to local communities, the Nepali authorities and all those responding tirelessly under difficult conditions, helping people recover from this disaster.’
The Nepalese people told the MSF that their biggest needs now are for recovery – for roads and markets to reopen, for schools, homes and infrastructure to be rebuilt. MSF says it is clear that continued, significant, relief efforts and funding for people in affected communities is required now and in the weeks and months to come.
Women and children have been particularly badly affected by the disaster, according to the UN, who launched a rescue effort immediately after it unfolded.
It says 43,000 women and girls now need humanitarian assistance, and that food and water are running out and protection risks are growing. Pregnant women and girls were washed away simply because they could not reach higher ground quickly enough, the UN told the press.
Access to healthcare has become a huge issue according to the World Health Organization. A spokesperson for the who said health facilities have been damaged while others cannot be reached, meaning ‘people on the ground don't have a health facility available at the time of their biggest needs’.
He added that, ‘while immediate efforts remain focused on life-saving interventions … preventing secondary public health impacts is equally important’.
The BMA has offered its support for those affected. It says: ‘We are deeply saddened by the devastating flash floods that struck the Nepal-Tibet border region that has claimed hundreds of lives with many more still missing.
‘Our thoughts are with everyone affected, including those across the UK who may have family, friends, and colleagues in the region and to those who may be personally affected by the disaster's toll. This disaster is also a stark reminder of how a warming climate is increasing the risk of such catastrophic events for vulnerable communities worldwide – a trend with growing implications for global health.
‘We know that many NHS staff have close ties to Nepal and the wider region, and that news of an event on this scale can weigh heavily, even from a distance. We want any of our members grappling with this to know that support is available, whether through their employer's occupational health services, the NHS's staff support lines, or through the BMA's own wellbeing services and counselling support for members.’
It also points out it stands shoulder to shoulder with ‘the Nepal Medical Association and recognises the extraordinary humanitarian response already under way, and the healthcare professionals — in Nepal, Tibet, and further afield — working under immense pressure to treat the injured and search for the missing. Their dedication reflects the very best of our profession’.
Some of the BMA's international advocacy efforts have centred around asking the UK Government to take more ambitious climate action.
This includes securing a multi-year commitment to International Climate Finance to support preparedness and response, including climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, as well as the Loss and Damage Fund for countries experiencing harmful climatic events.
These harms are felt most acutely by populations that are often least responsible for the emissions driving the climate crisis but disproportionately affected by its consequences.
It has been widely reported that the flash flood is linked to climate change.
Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, Nepali prime minister Balendra Shah said the catastrophe was ‘not an ordinary’ event.
Mr Shah said on social media that ‘the risks we face in the Himalayan region are increasing alongside climate change … It is now time for us to strongly raise with the international community the issue of the disasters we are experiencing as a result of climate change’.
Addressing the house of representative of the Federal Parliament of Nepal, Mr Shah said: ‘This incident shows the increasing risk the people of the mountain region have to bear with the occurrence of climate change … There is a global contribution behind climate change. And the responsibility to manage and minimise its effects also rests on the global community.’
Chris Patterson is production editor of The Doctor