Nepal will need between $4 and $5 billion to recover from the catastrophic flooding that hit the country's border areas this week, Finance Minister Swarnim Waglé said in an interview with Reuters. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
According to him, the figure is still preliminary — authorities continue to assess the scale of losses and destruction.
Nepal's Foreign Minister Shishir Khanaal said the country needs foreign aid in specialized and technical areas where local experts lack experience.
This includes, in particular, rescuing people from tunnels, restoring transport and communication links in areas where bridges have been destroyed, identifying the dead, conducting DNA tests, and long-term storage of bodies.
"We have already requested such specialized services and technical assistance in areas where we lack experience and technical knowledge," Khanaal said.
At the same time, Nepal does not yet consider it necessary to involve foreign teams for regular search and rescue operations. According to the minister, local rescuers are coping with this task.
India and China are expected to provide temporary Bailey Bridge bridges to restore transport and communication links. About two dozen bridges have been destroyed in the affected area.
The disaster began after a glacier collapse in the Himalayas on Wednesday. A huge flow of rocks, ice, mud, and debris swept through mountain river systems.
On August 26, in the high-altitude Rasuwa district near the Nepal-China border, torrents of water, mud, and rocks washed away houses, roads, bridges, vehicles, hydropower facilities, schools, and hospitals.
More than 600 people died in the floods in Nepal and China's Tibet, with over 2,000 still missing.
Authorities also warn that more bodies may be found. According to Khanaal, hospitals are already overcrowded with the dead, and there is not enough refrigeration equipment to store them.
In the future, Nepal will need international support to rebuild destroyed infrastructure and rehabilitate affected areas.
The day before, Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry reported that three female citizens of the country are being searched for in the disaster zone on the Nepal-China border.