KATHMANDU: Earlier this year, on pre- monsoon, the flash flood in Roshi River of Kavre and the glacial flood in Humla on May 14 already hinted at the impending risks.

The monsoon bulletin warning with a low-pressure system developed over the Bay of Bengal has intensified the monsoon in Nepal, leading to widespread rainfall across 40 districts of the country losing 53 human lives. Such excessive monsoonal rainfall that disrupts our daily life, causing human and property losses, and damaging the physical infrastructures termed as monsoon-induced disasters.

Disasters in Nepal extend far beyond the monsoon season, reflecting a growing pattern of multi-hazard vulnerability throughout the year.  The country’s “disaster calendar” reveals an alarming rise in both the frequency and intensity of diverse hazards, from floods and landslides to earthquakes and glacial lake outburst floods.

Over the past 48 years, Nepal has experienced approximately 4,400 flood events, placing it second only to Bangladesh in South Asia and 20th globally in terms of multi-hazard disaster risk. It also ranks 30th worldwide for its high exposure to floods and landslides.

With this scenario, this article discusses of the monsoon induced disasters and understanding about the disaster management in Nepal.

Disaster means a natural or non-natural disaster causing a threatening situation in any place that results in loss of lives and properties and makes severe impacts on livelihood and the environment and disaster management means activities related to preparedness, response and recovery.

Specifically, the monsoon induced disasters including avalanche, glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), extreme rainfall, flood, landslide and soil erosion, inundation, storm occurred from natural causes damages assets and infrastructure, causes loss of lives, ecological disruptions and deterioration of physical infrastructures.

Disaster creates the serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society, which involve widespread human, material, economic or environmental impacts that exceed the ability of the affected community to cope using its own resources.

To minimize the impacts of disaster, understanding the disaster management is crucial where it deals with the human, physical, economic or environmental impacts of disaster. It encompasses with the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all the humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in preparedness, response and recovery.

It deals with the community-based approach where community people are priorly affected and as well as first responders themselves should be given to vital role. Disaster management also requires the roles and responsibilities be shared by government, non- government sectors, development stakeholders, humanitarian agencies and even international community with the prospective of collaborative approach.

The planning, development, strengthening and implementation of disaster related policies, acts, plans, guidelines and mechanisms need to aim at sustainable development, food security, health and safety, environmental management and disaster risk reduction strategies. Disaster management is the crosscutting issue of all sector that affects diverse developmental areas. Hence, mainstreaming disaster management in development planning process is inevitable.

The disaster management cycle includes three phases mainly of before disaster, during disaster and after disaster. Before disaster, the interventions related with disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation can be considered with the activities that intend to prevent potential adverse impacts of disasters through action taken in advance.

It includes early warning system installation, simulation and mock drills, contingency planning, training, evacuation plans, environment friendly infrastructures can reduce risk of loss of life and injury mitigation focusing on community-based disaster management.

During disaster, the disaster response and relief where the emergency services and public assistance is needed immediately after a disaster in order to save lives, reduce serve impacts, ensure public safety and meet the basic subsistence needs of the people affected.

The real time interventions such as task forces mobilization, relocation, emergency health care, food, water, cloth as substance needs, the prevention of epidemics, critical services such as health, telecommunications, transport and the provision temporary shelter in safe areas need to be ensured.

After disaster, the disaster recovery where the vulnerability of communities often continues for long after the initial crisis is over. Those programs which go beyond the provision of immediate relief to assist those who have suffered the full impact of a disaster with the implementation of the long-term related activities like rebuilding Infrastructure, reconstruction and rehabilitation, sustainable development activities, mainstreaming disaster in all development policies and practices to mitigate similar situations in future.

Nepal’s disaster management framework is guided by both international and national legal provisions, most prominently the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, which emphasizes the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods, health, and assets across social, economic, cultural, and environmental dimensions.

Nepal has institutionalized a robust legal and structural mechanism through the Constitution of Nepal, the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, 2074, its Rules, 2076, and the National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy and Plan of Action (2018–2030).

The country operates a three-tier governance system; federal, provincial, and local; each mandated with specific responsibilities for disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation through coordinated bodies such as the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management led by the Prime Minister, Specialized agency of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority under the Ministry of Home affairs and corresponding committees at provincial, district, and local levels.

The relevant stakeholders either International and National Non-government organizations, development partners, humanitarian agencies, civic societies, networks and media also activated to ensure an inclusive, coordinated, and sustainable approach to disaster risk management across the nation.

Nepal’s disaster management landscape remains riddled with policy gaps, institutional inertia, and weak implementation mechanisms. Despite the existence of several laws and policies, their execution often remains limited to paper, failing to cover all phases of the disaster management.

The managerial approach still prioritizes reactive response over proactive risk reduction, with inadequate assessment of socio-economic impacts and poor integration of disaster management into development planning. Environmental negligence such as the absence of disaster audits in project implementation and lack of proper environmental assessments further amplifies vulnerability.

The institutional framework continues to depend heavily on the government, with limited stakeholder engagement, poor adherence to building codes, and insufficient capacity at local levels. Moreover, the lack of research-driven policies and low prioritization of disaster-related investment deepen the country’s economic fragility in the face of recurrent natural hazards.

To transform this challenge into an opportunity for disaster resilience, Nepal must adopt a holistic and forward-looking approach that interlinks policy reform, environmental accountability, and community resilience. Strong, effective and actionable laws should be enforced supported by robust monitoring systems and inclusive stakeholder participation.

Integrating disaster risk management into every layer of governance from federal to local levels will ensure that development projects are environmentally sustainable and socially equitable. Technological innovation, research on socio-economic impacts, and investment in resilience infrastructure should become national priorities.

Likewise, implementing building codes, mobilizing disaster relief funds, and introducing relief mechanisms will strengthen economic preparedness.

Only through such coordinated, multi-dimensional efforts can Nepal shift from a culture of response to a culture of resilience where preparedness, sustainability, and collective responsibility guide the nation’s path toward safer resilient communities. (The author, Malashi, is actively involved in writing expertise on Disaster Risk Management and Natural Resource Management)