Economics Of Post-Disaster Loss And Damage

The unfortunate flash flood which devastated the Bhote Koshi–Trishuli corridor on 26 August has reminded us that a single calamity which lasts for a few minutes can vanish what people, families, businesses and communities have built over decades. The immediate figures of economic losses are washed-away houses, damaged roads and bridges, demolished hydropower facilities, flooded farms and lost livestock, and closed businesses and household properties. The very preliminary estimates of loss and damage, which are based on reconstruction and rehabilitation costs, suggest that the economic loss is about Rs. 400 billion.