Nepal flood reconstruction costs estimated at $4.8 billion

Nepal flood reconstruction costs estimated at $4.8 billion

KATHMANDU
Nepal flood reconstruction costs estimated at $4.8 billion

People conduct rescue work after a massive flash flood in Nepal.

The reconstruction bill after deadly floods sparked by a glacial mountain collapse that hit Nepal last month would amount to $4.78 billion, the foreign ministry said on Sept. 11.


The tsunami-like surge of water, mud and debris on Aug. 26, which began on the China-Nepal border, killed more than 1,400 people and left some 5,600 missing.


"The total estimated requirement for reconstruction is approximately $4.78 billion," Nepali foreign ministry spokesman Lok Bahadur Chhetri told reporters.


"Of this, approximately $57.67 million is estimated to be required for short-term reconstruction and recovery over the next six months, while approximately $4.71 billion is required for longer-term reconstruction."


Nepal's leaders say the Himalayan country needs long-term international support to adapt to a rapidly changing mountain environment.


Prime Minister Balendra Shah said earlier that Nepal must "strongly raise" with the international community the disasters it has experienced as a result of climate change.


Shah is expected to take his first foreign trip as leader to address the U.N. General Assembly on the urgent issue this month.


Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people, contributes a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions compared to industrialized nations.