KATHMANDU: Nepal menganggarkan kos pembinaan semula selepas dilanda banjir besar akibat runtuhan glasier di kawasan pergunungan bulan lalu mencecah AS$4.78 bilion (RM19.4 bilion).

Kementerian Luar Nepal berkata, jumlah itu merangkumi kos untuk memulihkan kawasan terjejas susulan bencana pada 26 Ogos yang mengorbankan lebih 1,400 nyawa, manakala kira-kira 5,600 lagi masih dilaporkan hilang.

Banjir besar yang disifatkan seperti tsunami itu bermula di kawasan sempadan China-Nepal sebelum melanda kawasan sekitar, menyebabkan kemusnahan besar terhadap nyawa dan harta benda.

Perdana Menteri, Balendra Shah, berikrar untuk membawa isu berkenaan ke peringkat antarabangsa, khususnya kesan perubahan iklim yang semakin mengancam negara Himalaya itu.

Shah akan melakukan lawatan luar negara pertamanya sebagai pemimpin bagi menghadiri Perhimpunan Agung Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) pada akhir September ini untuk membangkitkan isu berkenaan, menurut kementerian.

Setiausaha Luar Nepal, Amrit Bahadur Rai, berkata Shah akan berucap di PBB bagi menarik perhatian masyarakat antarabangsa terhadap kehilangan nyawa dan harta benda yang berulang kali terpaksa ditanggung Nepal akibat perubahan iklim serta bencana yang dicetuskannya.

Rai berkata, Nepal memerlukan sokongan jangka panjang masyarakat antarabangsa untuk menyesuaikan diri dengan perubahan pesat persekitaran di kawasan pergunungan.

“Jumlah keperluan bagi pembinaan semula dianggarkan sekitar AS$4.78 bilion.

“Daripada jumlah itu, kira-kira AS$57.67 juta diperlukan untuk kerja pembinaan semula dan pemulihan jangka pendek dalam tempoh enam bulan akan datang, manakala sekitar AS$4.71 bilion diperlukan bagi pembinaan semula jangka panjang,” kata jurucakap Kementerian Luar Nepal, Lok Bahadur Chhetri.

Nepal, negara yang sebahagian besarnya terdiri daripada kawasan luar bandar dengan populasi 30 juta penduduk, menyumbang hanya sebahagian kecil daripada pelepasan gas rumah hijau global berbanding negara-negara perindustrian.

Penilaian awal PBB menganggarkan kerosakan bangunan akibat banjir di Nepal sahaja mencecah AS$158 juta (RM643 juta), sambil memberi amaran jumlah kerugian keseluruhan dijangka jauh lebih tinggi, termasuk kerosakan jalan raya dan jambatan, tanah pertanian serta kos kemanusiaan.

Pasukan penyelamat Nepal masih menjalankan kerja mengorek terowong jana kuasa hidro yang ditenggelami lumpur sejuk beku, dengan ratusan pekerja antara yang masih hilang.- AFP

Kuala Lumpur: Pasukan Mencari dan Menyelamat Khas Malaysia (SMART) yang menyertai Misi Bantuan Kemanusiaan dan Bencana (HADR) di Nepal dijangka pulang ke tanah air hari ini atau esok, kata Menteri Luar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

Beliau berkata, peralatan seperti dron milik pasukan itu telah diserahkan kepada pasukan penyelamat di Nepal untuk kegunaan misi pencarian mangsa bencana banjir kilat dan tanah runtuh di negara itu.

"Pihak berkuasa Nepal (buat masa ini) tidak berhasrat mengumumkan penamatan usaha mencari dan menyelamat (SAR) kerana masih ada 5,000 orang yang berada dalam kategori tidak dapat dikesan.

"Ketua pasukan SMART akan memberikan laporan dan membuat penilaian untuk langkah seterusnya supaya kita tidak membuat keputusan terburu-buru dan jika mereka (Nepal) perlu bantuan daripada Malaysia, kita boleh pertimbangkan agar dapat membantu," katanya.

Mohamad berkata demikian kepada pemberita semasa melawat Laman Media pada Perhimpunan Agung UMNO 2026 di sini, hari ini.

Pasukan SMART MAS01 yang menyertai HADR tiba di negara itu melalui Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Tribhuvan, Kathmandu pada 5 Sept lalu.

Pasukan yang terdiri daripada 11 anggota dan pegawai berlepas ke Nepal dengan pesawat A400M milik Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia (TUDM) dari Pangkalan Udara TUDM Subang dengan membawa peralatan SAR seberat 12.4 tan.

Sementara itu, Mohamad berkata, Kedutaan Malaysia di Kathmandu sentiasa berhubung dengan kerajaan Nepal untuk mendapatkan maklumat mengenai status terkini rakyat Malaysia yang dilaporkan hilang dalam tragedi pada 26 Ogos itu.

Beliau berkata ia bagi membolehkan urusan seperti insurans dan yang berkaitan dapat diuruskan oleh waris.

"Di Nepal, mana-mana individu yang hilang (atau) tidak dapat ditemui, sijil kematian hanya boleh dikeluarkan selepas tiga tahun, (tetapi) di Malaysia, tujuh tahun.

"Itu sebabnya kita minta kedutaan di sana berurusan dengan kementerian (di Nepal) untuk (mengetahui) cara waris terdekat mendapatkan dokumen yang boleh mengesahkan status rakyat Malaysia yang masih tidak ditemui," katanya.

At 10pm tonight, the environment department’s dashboard showed “very unhealthy” air quality in Serian (with a reading of 210), and “unhealthy” air quality in Sri Aman (190) Samarahan (167), Kuching (166) and Sibu (113). The readings are a rolling average over a 24-hour period and do not represent spot readings.

The state education department said all primary and secondary schools would reopen in Kuching, Padawan, Bau, Lundu, Samarahan, Simunjan, Sri Aman, Kanowit, Julau, Meradong, Bintulu and Tatau/Sebauh.

Face masks would be distributed soon to pupils, teachers and staff at schools identified as being severely affected by the haze, the department said. Schools were reminded to take appropriate measures should haze affect their respective areas or districts.

“All outdoor activities involving students must be halted if the air pollution index (API) reading goes above 100. When the reading exceeds 200, all schools in the affected area or district must close immediately. If the reading exceeds 500, teachers and school staff are not required to report for duty,” it said.

Parents and guardians may keep their children at home if they are concerned about their health due to the haze currently affecting several areas in Sarawak. However, schools must be informed.

SABAH is blessed with rich natural resources, abundant rainfall, extensive forests, rivers and catchments. These natural resources have supported our communities and economic activities for generations. But as Sabah continues its development journey under Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) 2.0, ensuring a reliable and sustainable water supply become increasingly important.

The possible impact of El Niño and prolonged dry conditions provides a timely reminder that water security requires careful preparation. However, this should not be viewed simply as a response to one weather event. Rather, it is an opportunity for Sabah to further strengthen its long-term approach to water-resource management.

Water Security is a Foundation of Development. Water is essential to almost every aspect of our lives. Existing and new industries, agriculture, tourism, housing, commercial activities, healthcare and other economic activities all depend on a reliable water supply. Families also rightly expect safe, sufficient and dependable water as part of a good quality of life. Water security is therefore closely connected to economic growth, food security, public health, investment confidence and community wellbeing.

As Sabah moves forward with SMJ 2.0, water security should be regarded as one of the important foundations of the State’s long-term development.

The State Government has made significant investments over the years in water treatment facilities, pipelines, reservoirs and other infrastructure. The next step is to further strengthen the way these infrastructure assets and Sabah’s natural water resources are managed as one integrated system.

We need to manage the Whole Water Cycle. Water management is not only about treating water and sending it to consumers. We need to look after water from the time rain falls, enters our catchments and rivers, is stored and treated, delivered to homes and businesses, used by consumers, and where practical treated and reused. This means protecting forests and catchment areas, keeping rivers clean, providing adequate storage for dry periods, maintaining reliable treatment and distribution systems, reducing wastage and encouraging appropriate water reuse.

In simple terms, we should protect water when it is available, store it when we can, use it efficiently and reuse it where appropriate.

This whole-of-cycle approach can help Sabah make better use of its existing resources while preparing for future challenges.

Five strategic areas are proposed for consideration:

1. Strengthen catchment protection

Healthy catchments are the foundation of sustainable water resources.
Our strategic catchments, forests and river corridors need continued protection because they help maintain water quality and the reliability of our water sources. Catchment protection should therefore be viewed not simply as environmental protection, but as an investment in Sabah’s natural water infrastructure.

2. Enhance strategic water storage

Climate variability reminds us of the importance of having sufficient water reserves. Sabah could continue to assess suitable opportunities for reservoirs, off-river storage and other appropriate forms of water storage. Rainwater harvesting could also be encouraged for suitable public buildings, commercial developments, industrial facilities and other premises.

The principle is simple. That is to capture and store water when it is available so that reserves are available during dry periods.

3. Reduce water losses

Reducing Non-Revenue Water (NRW) is one of the most practical ways to improve the efficiency of existing water infrastructure.

Ageing pipelines, leakage, inaccurate metering and excessive pressure can result in valuable, treated water being lost before it reaches consumers.

Systematic pipeline replacement, better pressure management, improved metering, leak detection and digital monitoring can progressively reduce these losses.

Water conserved through efficiency improvements can also help defer the need for some additional water-supply capacity. In other words, the most cost-effective source of additional water can sometimes be the water we currently lose.

4. Develop smart water management

Digital technology provides Sabah with new opportunities to manage water resources more effectively. We could consider developing an integrated State Water Information and Monitoring System that brings together information on rainfall, river levels, reservoir storage, water demand and weather conditions.

Sensors, telemetry, geographic information systems, satellite data and artificial intelligence could progressively improve monitoring and forecasting.

The objective is straightforward. That is to move from reacting to water problems towards identifying and managing them earlier.

5. Strengthen drought and climate resilience

Sabah’s water planning should prepare for both prolonged dry periods and excessive rainfall. A State-level drought management framework could establish clear indicators and response levels so that relevant agencies can coordinate their actions before conditions become critical. This could include water conservation, reservoir operation, emergency water supply, public communication and prioritisation of essential water uses.

A coordinated whole-of-state approach

Water does not follow administrative boundaries. Water-resource management involves many sectors and stakeholders, including water supply, drainage, irrigation, agriculture, forestry, environment, land development, local authorities and disaster management. Greater coordination among these areas can help ensure that individual projects and policies contribute towards a common State water-security objective. Sabah could consider further strengthening existing inter-agency coordination, with appropriate State-level mechanism for integrated Water Resource Council where necessary. The objective should not be to create unnecessary bureaucracy. It should be practical. That is better coordination; better information and better decisions.

Planning today for Sabah tomorrow

Looking ahead, Sabah could consider developing a Sabah Integrated Water Resource Management Plan 2027–2050, aligned with SMJ 2.0.

Such a plan could provide a long-term framework covering strategic water-source protection, river-basin planning, water storage, supply infrastructure, NRW reduction, groundwater protection, rainwater harvesting, water conservation and reuse, drought and flood resilience, and digital monitoring.

Most importantly, the plan should translate policy into clear priorities, measurable targets and phased implementation.

Water infrastructure has a long service life. Decisions made today will influence Sabah’s development for decades. Therefore, our planning should look beyond the next dry season and consider the needs of Sabah in 2030, 2040 and 2050.

The objective should not simply be to respond to the next water shortage. It should be to build confidence that every Sabah family, farmer, business and industry can have access to adequate and sustainable water resources for generations to come.

Water is more than a utility. It is a foundation of development. As Sabah advances under SMJ 2.0, let us take this opportunity to strengthen our water-resource management through good planning, sound engineering, responsible stewardship and close cooperation. El Niño may be a temporary climate challenge. Water security is a long-term responsibility.