Nepal could face a reconstruction bill of up to $5 billion following the devastating floods and landslides that have swept across the country, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle has told Reuters.
The preliminary estimate puts the cost of rebuilding at between $4 billion and $5 billion, equivalent to nearly a tenth of Nepal’s economy. “The initial estimate is between $4-$5 billion. Just an estimate,” Wagle said.
He added that the eventual cost could be lower than the amount required to rebuild after Nepal’s devastating 2015 earthquake. “We will require much less than what we needed for the 2015 earthquake. Loss and damage is being assessed,” he said.
Missing persons and death toll continue to climb
Nepal’s disaster authority has raised the number of missing people to 2,426, including 517 foreigners. The death toll has also risen to 626.
The number of missing Nepalis saw a sharp increase from 1,924 reported the previous night, underlining the scale of the ongoing search and rescue operation.
Threat of glacial lake burst eases
Meanwhile, concerns over another potential disaster near the China-Nepal border have eased.
Chinese authorities said the risk of a glacial lake bursting near the site of this week’s devastating flooding has decreased, with satellite images indicating that the lake has been gradually shrinking.
Images captured between Thursday and Saturday morning reportedly showed water slowly flowing out of the lake, reducing the volume of water held in the reservoir.
Himachal engineer among those missing
The disaster has also left families across India anxiously waiting for news of loved ones.
Sukhvinder, a mechanical engineer from Himachal Pradesh’s Una district who was working at the Trishuli Hydro Project in Nepal, has gone missing following the floods.
His family has approached the central government and local MP Anurag Thakur, seeking help in locating him.
Sukhvinder’s father, Husan Lal, said his son had previously worked in Bhutan before being transferred to Nepal by his company. He had returned to Nepal on August 15, after spending three months on leave.
As rescue teams continue to search for survivors and those still missing, Nepal is simultaneously beginning to confront the enormous task of assessing the destruction and rebuilding communities devastated by the floods.
