KATHMANDU, Nepal | Nepal initially declined offers from several countries to deploy foreign search-and-rescue teams after catastrophic flash floods devastated communities along the Bhote Koshi River, but the government has since agreed to allow limited international assistance as the scale of the disaster and the number of missing people continue to grow.
Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said its own security agencies were capable of handling the immediate search-and-rescue operation. Countries including India, China, the United States, Britain, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had offered assistance, including specialized rescue teams. South Korea, which has citizens among those missing, continued negotiations with Kathmandu over assistance.
The disaster struck on August 26 after an ice and rock avalanche in the Himalayas sent a massive surge of water, mud and debris through the Bhote Koshi river system. The flooding devastated settlements in Rasuwa and surrounding areas near the Chinese border, destroying roads, bridges, hydropower facilities and the Gyirong border crossing linking Nepal with Tibet. Nearly 600 people have been reported dead, while about 2,500 remain missing, according to the latest reports.
The initial decision to limit foreign rescue teams did not mean Nepal was rejecting international aid altogether. The government has been accepting humanitarian and financial assistance, while international organizations and foreign governments have mobilized relief supplies and funds. The United States, for example, announced $500,000 in assistance and sent a disaster response adviser, while the United Nations said it was mobilizing supplies and personnel.
Nepal’s position began to change as the situation became more complicated. The Kathmandu Post reported that the government agreed to allow international experts to assist with specialized operations, including tunnel rescues and identification of bodies. India had offered tunnel-rescue specialists, medical personnel and members of its National Disaster Response Force.
The cautious approach has a historical context. Nepal’s experience with the massive 2015 earthquake exposed serious challenges in coordinating the arrival of numerous foreign rescue and humanitarian teams. Fifty-three international search-and-rescue teams eventually traveled to Nepal, but an international review found significant coordination difficulties, while only a small number of survivors were rescued by those teams.
The location of the current disaster also adds a sensitive dimension. Rasuwa lies along Nepal’s northern frontier with China’s Tibet region. Reuters reported that some analysts believe the area’s geographic and diplomatic sensitivity may have influenced Kathmandu’s caution, although Nepal has not said that China pressured it to reject foreign rescue teams.
For now, Nepal is pursuing a middle path: maintaining control of the core rescue operation while accepting international financial, humanitarian and specialized assistance. The distinction is significant. The government is not closing the door on foreign help, but is seeking to determine what kind of outside assistance can be integrated without undermining coordination of the emergency response.
DC Alviar
Professor DC Alviar is a tenured associate professor at National University (NU) Manila and a steering committee member of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO). He has contributed to NU's community extension initiatives that introduced the five disciplines of a learning organization (Senge, 1990) to communities within a local government unit. He writes and edits local reports for Mega Scene. He graduated with Master of Development Communication (MDC) and Doctor of Communication (DComm) degrees from the University of the Philippines (UP) Open University in Los Baños and was awarded with a Commission on Higher Education (CHED) SIKAP grant. He previously served as editor-in-chief of The Adamson News and his high school publication Ang Ugat.
- DC Alviar
- DC Alviar
- DC Alviar
- DC Alviar
