Bhote Koshi flood impact extends beyond directly affected areas: ILO

Kathmandu — According to a recently released report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the economic impact of the Bhote Koshi River flood that occurred in Rasuwa on Bhadra 10 is far more far-reaching than the direct physical damage it caused.

The report states that within the four-kilometer area directly affected by the flood, approximately 21,400 active workers reside, and with roads and markets shut down, they have been unable to return to work.

According to Numan Ozkan, Director of ILO Nepal, the impact of the disaster will not be limited to the flood-affected areas alone. "Damage to transport, electricity, and trade routes has disrupted supply chains and markets, directly affecting workers and industries far away," Ozkan said.

Workers engaged especially in tourism, agriculture, transport, and small industries are in serious crisis. Guides, porters, hotel and restaurant workers, drivers, and agricultural laborers have lost income, and their access to goods and markets has been blocked.

Nepal has a large number of workers in the unorganized or informal sector, which means they have neither adequate savings nor any social security. Wage workers and those running small and home-based businesses are currently at the greatest economic risk.

The organization's report warns that women workers are caught in a double bind: losing employment on one hand and bearing unpaid care work at home on the other. It also cautions that as family incomes plummet, the risk of children being pushed into child labor increases.

According to the organization's study, the impact on the Nepal-China trade corridor has put industries and businesses across the country in difficulty. The Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani border points, which account for about 22 percent of Nepal's total imports from China, have been badly affected by the floods. In particular, damage to transport infrastructure at the Rasuwa border point has nearly halted both exports and imports.

As a result, not only transport and customs-related work in the border area but also workers in wholesale and retail trade, construction, manufacturing, and processing industries are seen to be affected.

Following the glacial lake outburst in the northern border region, the severe floods and landslides have caused unimaginable damage across many parts of the country. Families who lost loved ones are in mourning, and numerous settlements and infrastructure have been devastated. In such a difficult time, experts in the economic and insurance sectors have drawn attention to the huge gap in risk management. If at least 'term insurance' had been arranged for residents, farmers, and workers in high flood-risk areas, they would have received some financial relief during this disaster and found it much easier to restart their livelihoods.

According to government statistics, more than 1,450 people lost their lives in this natural disaster, and 5,786 are still missing. With homes, arable land, roads, bridges, and power infrastructure destroyed, daily life has been thrown into disarray.

This tragedy has once again exposed the bitter reality of how weak insurance access is for the poor, farmers, and informal sector workers at risk of disasters in Nepal. If affordable and accessible term insurance or microinsurance had been arranged in high-risk areas beforehand, affected families could have started their recovery with funds from insurance claims instead of falling into a quagmire of debt.

In its report, the organization has recommended that the government and stakeholders provide direct financial assistance to affected families and small businesses, advance reconstruction work that creates employment, and focus on new employment opportunities and skill development.