Nine killed in landslides
Two members of a family in Sari VDC of Pyuthan district perished in a landslide on 16th August. The landslide buried the mother and her son while they were attending clan worship in Ward No. 8 the VDC, situated along the Pyuthan- Rolpa border.
Fourteen persons involved in the worship were also injured in the landslide. With the incident site having no access to communications, details of the incident are yet to come.
According to police in Pyuthan, the incident occurred on 15th August at 4:00 pm and they came to know about it only this morning. A team of police has been sent to the site, police said.
Four persons of a family, including three children were killed by landslide at Sakha village of Bharta VDC ward 7 in Kalikot district on 15th August night. According to police, Belu Shahi, 35 and his sons Ratan Bahadur, 13, one and a half year old Manraj and six months old Anipal died after their house got crushed by the landslide. Two sons of Shahi, seven-year old Dilip and three-year old Pabindra were injured in the incident. They are undergoing treatment at the district hospital in Manma.
Meanwhile, two persons perished in a landslide on the Tansen-Butwal section of Siddhartha Highway following incessant rainfall on 15th August night in Palpa district. According to the District Police Office, Rana Bahadur Bogati, 22, and Ashish Sunami, 24, of Gulmi district were killed after being caught under the landslide. They were heading for Gulmi by motorcycle when the incident occurred.
In Bajura, a road construction worker died and another was injured in a landslip triggered by torrential rain at Amkot of Bramhatola VDC ward-2 along Sanphe-Martadi road section, on 13th August afternoon. The deceased is Raj Chaudhary, 18 of Sadekapani of Kailali district. His friend Parshuram Chaudhary of the same place was seriously injured. They were hit by a landslide that occurred from 300 meters above the road, police said.
Meanwhile, incessant rainfall damaged the Surkhet-Jumla road of Karnali Highway causing major landslides at 32 points. Locals claimed that small-scale landslips occurred at over five dozen places, bringing vehicular movement to a complete halt. Due to road blocks, locals of various districts of Karnali region are sure to reel under shortage of daily use commodities.
Similarly, landslide at Chharchharebhir in the Siddhababa area along Siddhartha Highway on 16th August has rendered the road impassable. All vehicles moving to and from Palpa, Gulmi, Argakhachi, Baglung and Rupandehi were stranded by the blockage.
Road has been obstructed since 9:00 am on 17th August when landslide occurred at Daunne of Nawalparasi under the Mahendra Highway. The road was obstructed after landslide occurred at Daunne because of rains since last night.
Works of removing the debris is on by using dozers, said the District Police Office Nawalparasi. Thousands of passengers heading east and west have been stranded there.

Landslide displaces many families

Fifty-five families of Ratmate in Khabu VDC of Udaypur district have been displaced due to a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall. The landslide also swept away three-kilometre section of Gaighat-Diktel section of the Sagarmmatha Highway. The displaced families have reached district headquarters seeking relief. The landslide has already swept away eight houses and many more were on the verge of being swept away. The landslide also swept away 200 ropanis of fertile land and maize crop planted in it.
In Myagdi district 143 families at Histan VDC are at high risk of landslide following incessant monsoon rains in wards 7 and 8 of the VDC looms large this rainy season. The land has sunk with a meter-long crack in the local Bhirkateri cliff above the settlement. Villagers could not sleep a wink when landslide rubbles recently damaged the security gabion wall.
A team of geologists, who reached the village last year, recommended that the government shift the human settlement from the village. The government, various NGOs and locals spent over 3 million rupees to control landslide. However, these efforts seem ineffective this time around.
Property worth about Rs. 200,000 has been lost when the building of Janakalyan Savings and Credit Cooperatives Ltd. at Rammandir of Sribhanjyang VDC- 7 in east Lamjung was swept away by landslide. Many goods were damaged after the building was collapsed. Seven houses of the Dalit settlement nearby have also been in danger after landslide occurred 14th August because of incessant rains for the past one week.
Majhgaun of Sribhanjyang VDC -4 was also in danger as the landslide did not stop after flood increased in Thulokhola (river).Villagers are worrying after the whole Majhgaun village with 40 households was in the risk of landslide.

Inundation and flood threat in different districts
At least six village development committees in southern parts of Kapilvastu district have been inundated.The inundated villages include Rangapur, Prasohiya, Baidauli and Hardauna. Areas adjoining Mahali Sagar dam have been inundated, a social mobiliser of Kalika Self-Help Organisation Prem Jaisawal said.
The inundation has damaged paddy crops planted in these villages. Hundreds of sheds built in the area have collapsed, Jaisawal further stated. Farmers of the villages said that they do not have paddy seedlings for plantation. The flooding has only aggravated the plight of poor farmers.
The swollen Babai River in Bardiya district, which is constantly eroding land in district headquarters Gulariya, is posing serious threat to locals as the flood waters might soon enter here if attempts are not made to stop the erosion. Prem Pokharel, a local, said Gulariya will become an \\\"island\\\" if authorities fail to contain the eroding river. \\\"If the River sweeps away the Bhada bridge and the road nearby, Gulariya will be an island soon.\\\"
Similarly, the Madi area in Chitwan district is facing flood menace following a surge in water level in the local river. With no bridge over the Reu River, access to district headquarters has also been cut off. Locals complained that this is a routine phenomenon during the monsoons every year but the government has not taken any initiative to address their plight. Around 400 families in Madi area have already been displaced due to floods in the past 10 years.
Torrential rainfall has inundated hundreds of houses in Biratnagar in Morang district. Displaced families are putting up in neighbours\\\' houses. Ward Numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16 and 22 of Biratnagar sub-metropolis have been inundated. According to the Koshi Basin Office, 40 mm of rainfall was recorded last night. Property worth lakhs was destroyed as rain inundated the house of Ram Sahani of Biratnagar 7. The houses of Najim Miyan, Mohammad Sikandar, Rasum Miyan and Dr Inamul Khan in Ward No 7 of the sub-metropolis have also been inundated. Traffic movement has come to a halt after inundation.

Discussion on carbon sale income
Nepal has earned US$ 842 thousand from carbon sales by decreasing emission of carbon dioxide through use of bio-gas. In 2005 two bio-gas projects were registered in World Bank as Clean Development Mechanism.

Eighty percent of sales would be used for the technology and remaining would be spent in the project implementation.

Similarly, small hydroelectric projects having capacity of 15 megawatt have been registered as the Clean Development Mechanism and improved watermills having capacity of 13.37 megawatt have been registered in project idea notes.

In the workshop, organized at Kathmandu on 15th August by Alternative Energy Promotion Center, experts discussed the use of income from carbon sales and search of new projects.

Advisor to Ministry of Science and Technology, Prof. Dr. Devidutta Poudel said poor people should get share of income from carbon sales.

Executive Director of the Center, Dr. Govinda Pokharel said there is prospect of additional income from the carbon sales. Under Secretary at the Ministry Batukrishna Upreti and other experts presented working papers in the workshop.

WFP doubles existing support

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Nepal announced on 15th August plans to expand operations to feed 2.5 million people in the country, doubling existing efforts to reach hungry people in 31 districts who are struggling with compounded effects of high food prices, conflict, and drought.
A statement issued here on 15th August said, approximately half of those in need will be covered under WFP\\\'s existing programme targeting 1.2 million people struggling to recover from conflict, an onslaught of natural disasters and who now face the additional burden of high food prices.
\\\"More than 40 per cent of people are undernourished and millions of people have been living under the constant threat of hunger. We have seen how rising food and fuel prices have forced families to reduce the amount of food they consume -- putting them at risk of malnutrition,\\\" a statement quoted WFP Country Representative Richard Ragan.
Frequent strikes by transport syndicates disrupt the flow of commodities, causing localised food shortages and further increase in food prices, the statement noted.
\\\"As a first priority, WFP has expanded operations to protect the lives and nutritional status of the most vulnerable by providing immediate food assistance through food-for-work or cash-for-work activities,\\\" said the statement, adding these activities will create assets and generate income that will improve people\\\'s ability to cope with rising food prices both in the short and medium-term.
The statement added that WFP Nepal has recently received a $6 million contribution from Saudi Arabia, announced earlier this week as part of a WFP package to assist 16 hunger hotspots.
\\\"The contribution from Saudi Arabia will help us feed Nepal\\\'s hungry, but we still need an additional $70 million to reach the 2.5 million Nepalis, who are becoming hungrier every day as food prices continue to rise,\\\" stated Ragan.
Since the onset of the crisis, WFP has been working closely with the government of Nepal and other agencies including the World Bank, FAO, IFAD, and ADB to develop coordinated short, medium and long-term responses to soaring food prices, it said.

WB puts Nepal in disaster hotspot

Resident Representative of the UNDP Nepal, Robert Piper on 13th August underscored that the Nepalese public at large needed to change their knowledge, attitude and practice to reduce the risk caused by natural disasters through preparedness.
The government and other stakeholders needed to expedite the process of having the strategy for Disaster Risk management and related Acts and Regulations approved and implemented, and the new institutional framework for effective disaster management and response immediately, he briefed to journalists at an interaction.
Widespread awareness generation on risk mitigation and preparedness was equally relevant as having adequate policy and institutional set up in place, he added.
World Bank Study (2005) classified Nepal as one of the natural disaster ‘hot spots’ in the world. Similarly, Reducing Disaster Risk a report published by BCPR-2004 ranked Nepal as 11th and 30th in terms of relative vulnerability to earthquakes and floods respectively.
Past records have shown that Nepal can expect two earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 to 8 on the Richter scale every 40 years and one earthquake of magnitude of 8 plus every 80 years.
The 1934 earthquake of 8.3 Richter scale caused partial or complete damage to more than 38, 000 buildings or structures and killed 8,542 persons.
A similar earthquake now in Kathmandu Valley alone would result in a human casualty of around 40,000.
On average, floods and landslides have claimed more than 218 human lives annually and 439 people went missing, 649 injured, 200,269 families affected. An estimated loss of around Rs.7,757 million of property has been calculated including agricultural lands and crops.