Nepal flood recovery bill to hit $4.78b

KHATMANDU:

Nepal estimates the reconstruction bill after deadly floods sparked by a glacial mountain collapse last month will amount to $4.78 billion, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah has vowed to "strongly raise" with the international community the disasters that Nepal has experienced as a result of climate change.

"The total estimated requirement for reconstruction is approximately $4.78 billion," Nepali foreign ministry spokesman Lok Bahadur Chhetri told reporters.

"Of this, approximately $57.67 million is estimated to be required for short-term reconstruction and recovery over the next six months, while approximately $4.71 billion is required for longer-term reconstruction."

The August 26 catastrophe, a tsunami-like flood that began on the China-Nepal border, killed more than 1,400 people and left some 5,600 missing.

Nepal's leaders say the Himalayan country needs long-term international support to adapt to a rapidly changing mountain environment. Nepal, a largely rural nation of 30 million people, contributes a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions compared to industrialised nations.