Nuwakot suffers severest damage

8,317 families in 5 districts hit hard

Kathmandu, Sept. 13

The devastating Bhotekoshi flood on August 26 affected 17,082 people from 4,418 households in Nuwakot, making it the most affected district in terms of damage inflicted to the social sector.

The torrents affected a total of 8,317 families in five districts – Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan – and impacted 32,963 individuals, according to the Rapid Disaster Need Assessment (RDNA) report prepared by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, National Statistics Office and concerned ministries of the government.

About 7,570 private buildings were affected by the flood.

The report said that the distribution of damage was concentrated in Nuwakot, which accounts for 52.5 per cent of estimated affected buildings, followed by Rasuwa at 23.5 per cent and Dhading at 19.2 per cent.

At the local level, Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot recorded the largest count, with 3,026 buildings, followed by Gosaikunda Rural Municipality in Rasuwa with 1,043 and Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality in Dhading with 1,037. Together, these three local levels account for 67.5 per cent of the assessed building count.

 

Flood affected 15 local levels, 52 wards

The disaster affected buildings in 52 wards across 15 local levels, estimated the study. The largest building impacts were recorded in Kispang Ward-5 (696 buildings), Gosaikunda Ward-2 (571), and Benighat Rorang Ward-3 (553).

"Together, these wards accounted for 1,820 buildings, or 24.0 per cent of the total. In Bidur, the count is distributed across 11 wards, indicating that recovery requirements extend across multiple locations within the municipality," read the report.

However, as of September 10, only a small portion of the affected people – 3,685 individuals – are staying at 37 temporary holding centres in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading. There are 2,615 people in 25 holding centres in Nuwakot, 775 in nine holding centres in Rasuwa and 295 in three holding centres in Dhading. But by Sunday, the number of people at the holding centres has gone down to 2,712.

Many people have sought shelters in the houses of their relatives in safer areas and in the Kathmandu Valley while those whose houses remain at safer locations have returned to them. Still 4,089 individuals are unaccounted for.

The RDNA said that the data about people staying with their relatives, returning homes and requiring further accommodation support is not available.

The primary assessment also did not make building- and site-level assessments to make inferences of the requirements for repair, reconstruction and possible relocation.

In monetary terms, the damage to buildings is estimated at USD 421.74 million and USD 632.61 million in recovery needs. The remaining needs cover public buildings and facilities, education, health, and cultural heritage.

The damage to the housing sector ranks third after energy (US$ 997.13 million) and economic activities and livelihoods (US$ 965.13 million).

Likewise, the RDNA recorded damage to 18 schools and seven health facilities, alongside affected water systems, electricity infrastructure, telecommunications, roads and bridges.

The floods damaged estimated 4,800 infrastructure including health facilities, water systems, electricity infrastructure, and telecommunications. Household recovery consequently depends on the restoration of connected services and access, as well as housing and productive assets.

 

Disaster risk reduction measures inflate cost

According to the RDNA, total disaster effects are estimated at US$ 2,695.33 million, comprising US$ 1,812.01 million in physical damage and US$ 883.32 million in economic losses. These amounts are equivalent to Rs. 408.28 billion, including Rs. 274.48 billion in damage and Rs. 133.80 billion in losses.

It estimated the total recovery and reconstruction needs at US$ 4,774.99 million (Rs. 723.31 billion. Early recovery needs for the first six months are estimated at US$ 57.66 million, while recovery and reconstruction need beyond six months are estimated at US$ 4,717.32 million.

"Recovery needs exceed the assessed value of damage and losses because they include reconstruction, disaster risk reduction and resilience measures that extend beyond the replacement of damaged assets," said the report, adding that the largest differences arise in the energy and disaster risk reduction estimates, which remain subject to detailed engineering, financing and implementation review.

Published in The Rising Nepal on 14 September 2026.