Nepal's disaster preparedness: government's decision to focus on readiness as much as response a welcome move
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Upgrading its previous early warning system, the DHM has been providing information to the public much earlier than previous years. Every day, it releases bulletin that gives prior information regarding possible floods in major rivers based on prediction of amount of rainfall and weather condition. Further, DHM has been posting regular updates on its social media platforms and sends out messages through SMS services. These services were found to be useful for people last year when floods in Southern plains wreaked havoc, claiming nearly 160 lives.
The Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act 2017 is also an achievement. Finally jettisoning a cornucopia of legislation, the government has come up with a single law that incorporates several issues significant to mitigating disaster risk and its management. However, the bill also envisages disaster management committees at local level and provincial level. As the meeting suggested, this needs to be done at the earliest since monsoon has already set in.
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