Kathmandu, July 19: The second meeting of the Monsoon Response Command Post has decided to suspend nighttime vehicular movement in 23 high-risk districts following a special weather bulletin issued by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.
The department has forecast extremely heavy rainfall at one or two locations in the hilly and Tarai areas of Koshi, Gandaki, Lumbini and Sudurpaschim provinces on July 18 and 19. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is also likely in parts of the country’s Himalayan and hilly regions, as well as in parts of the Tarai in Koshi, Bagmati, Lumbini, and Sudurpaschim provinces, with isolated heavy rainfall expected in Madhesh, Bagmati, and Gandaki provinces.
The department has placed 23 districts under the red alert category requiring immediate preparedness. They are Panchthar, Ilam, Jhapa, Sankhuwasabha, Tehrathum, Bhojpur, Khotang, Dhankuta, Sindhuli, Lalitpur, Kavrepalanchok, Sindhupalchok, Nuwakot, Chitwan, Dhading, Gorkha, Lamjung, Kaski, Tanahun, Parbat, Baglung, Myagdi and Syangja.
The Command Post has instructed District Security Committees and local governments in these districts to remain on high alert. It warned that intense rainfall could trigger flash floods, landslides, riverbank erosion, debris flows and urban flooding. Authorities have been directed to halt nighttime vehicular movement in the red-alert districts, and, depending on conditions, District Security Committees have been authorised to suspend traffic at any time if necessary.
Other districts have also been urged to maintain heightened vigilance.
The meeting called on all three security agencies, local governments, volunteers and other concerned bodies to remain on standby for emergency response. The Department of Roads and other relevant agencies have been instructed to keep bulldozers, excavators, loaders and other heavy equipment ready along vulnerable highways and roads.
District Security Committees, local governments, security agencies and volunteers have also been asked to relocate people living in high-risk areas to safer locations in advance whenever early warning systems indicate an imminent disaster.
The Command Post further urged development partners, civil society organisations, media outlets, the private sector and the general public to cooperate in disaster preparedness and response efforts. It also decided to ensure that emergency warehouses remain fully prepared for immediate mobilisation whenever required.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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