When disasters strike, police are the first responders, but they are severely ill-equipped

Difficult geographic conditions make it even more difficult, necessitating more local involvement in rescue and relief operations, experts and officials say.

On the night of July 9, when the phone rang at around 2:30am at Myagdi District Police Office, Inspector Dhruba Sharma knew that it was a call for rescue. It had been raining for the past few days. Someone from the other side said landslides had buried around four houses in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality Ward 7, said Sharma.