NEPAL (11 October)
Flooding and landslides, triggered by days of torrential rains in the late September, reportedly killed at least 32 people with 39 people missing in Dadeldhura district in far-western Nepal.
Harvesting of maize is complete while harvesting for millet and rice has just started and will be complete by the middle of December. Scattered rainfall in June, July and August delayed paddy transplantation and reduced the paddy area (some 5 percent down) and production in most of Nepal, particularly eastern Nepal. The output of 2005 paddy is provisionally forecast at 4.08 million tonnes, some 5 percent below the previous year, while coarse grain production, mostly maize, is forecast at 1.92 million tonnes, almost unchanged from last year. Consequently, the total cereal import requirement in 2005/06 is expected at 140 000 tonnes.
Nepal is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Widespread flooding and landslides in the summer of 2004 affected 800 000 people in 25 of Nepal’s 75 districts. The armed conflict and the unstable political situation in the country continue to disrupt the security and livelihood of thousands of families.