KATHMANDU:- The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has identified 128 locations across Kathmandu district at risk of inundation during this year’s monsoon season, with an estimated 8,315 families likely to be affected.
To reduce potential damage, the KMC has approved a pre-monsoon preparedness and response plan, said Anirudha Nepal, Chief of the Disaster Management Department at the KMC.
Nepal informed that ward No. 14, located in the low-lying area near the confluence of the Bagmati and Bishnumati rivers, faces the highest flood risk.
Other vulnerable wards include wards 13, 15, 29, 10, 16, 26, 32 and 12.
Furthermore, he shared that ward no. 30 has the highest number of flood-prone sites, with 21 locations identified, while wards 4 and 32 each have 10 risk areas.
Similarly, ward no. 16 is expected to be the most severely affected, with around 1,600 families at risk due to flooding in the Samakhushi, Bishnumati and other streams.
An estimated 1,255 families in ward 26, 950 in ward 3, and 955 in ward 4 may also be adversely affected, the KMC cautions. The Metropolis has also designated 51 parks, 28 open spaces and 87 schools for emergency use during disasters.
The pre-monsoon preparedness and response plan is devised in accordance with the forecasts from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, which predicts monsoon rainfall from June 1 to September 30 for this year.