Nepal Floods Kill Hundreds as Hydropower Dams Fail

The monsoon floods that have killed more than 600 people in Nepal and left around 3,000 missing are a structural disaster, not a natural one deaths surpass 600, with around 3,000 still missing. A Nepali Army spokesperson said early Saturday that helicopter operations were on hold until weather conditions improved helicopter operations were on hold until weather conditions improved, leaving thousands stranded in valleys where the state has concentrated its development bets.

The same waters that swept away villages destroyed hydropower stations supplying the grid. The New York Times reports that "The loss of power-generating capacity has raised questions about an ambitious expansion of renewable energy in one of the world's most hazard-prone mountain regions" The loss of power-generating capacity has raised questions about an ambitious expansion of renewable energy in one of the world's most hazard-prone mountain regions. The revenue from those dams flows to investors and the state; the risk flows downhill to the communities in the floodplains.

Anjana Raja of California described the split-second decision she and her husband made as the 50-foot flood came towards them in Nepal split second decision that she and her husband made as the 50-foot flood came towards her and her husband in Nepal. Her survival was chance. For the hundreds dead and thousands missing, there was no helicopter. The state's emergency capacity was grounded.

When the scale of the catastrophe became clear, Australia pledged a contribution the World Socialist Web Site notes "would not be enough to purchase three average houses in Sydney, and is equivalent to 44 minutes of military spending" would not be enough to purchase three average houses in Sydney, and is equivalent to 44 minutes of military spending. Forty-four minutes of the Australian war machine's budget for a flood that has erased entire settlements.

The pattern is clear. Capital builds megaprojects in hazard-prone regions to extract revenue. The state provides the legal framework and emergency services that fail when needed. International donors contribute pennies per corpse. The workers, peasants, and communities who live in the floodplains pay with their lives. This is not mismanagement. It is the operating logic of a system that values hydropower revenue over human survival. Until that logic is broken, every monsoon will be a massacre.