United States Announces Additional $31 Million for Nepal’s Flood Recovery and Reconstruction
Dragon Media News Desk
The United States has announced plans to provide an additional $31 million to support Nepal’s recovery from devastating floods and landslides, focusing on infrastructure reconstruction, assistance to affected communities and strengthening the country’s capacity to respond to future disasters.
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker announced the additional assistance during a meeting with Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal in New York on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
According to the US Department of State, the proposed assistance includes $10 million for constructing permanent bridges to replace critical transportation infrastructure damaged or destroyed by the floods. The projects are expected to involve American companies, with implementation requiring coordination with the US Congress.
An additional $8 million has been earmarked for essential humanitarian and recovery assistance to affected communities. The funding will support access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services, emergency shelter, protection, livelihood restoration and winter preparedness.
The United States has also announced plans to allocate $13 million for the procurement of American-made drones to strengthen Nepal’s future disaster response and recovery capabilities. The technology is expected to support operations in remote and difficult terrain, particularly where damaged roads, unstable slopes and other hazards restrict access to affected communities.
Nepal has previously identified advanced drones, Bailey bridges, specialized search and rescue equipment and other technical resources among its priority requirements for disaster response and recovery. The latest American assistance package addresses several of these identified needs, particularly transportation infrastructure and technology-based disaster management.
With the new announcement, total US assistance pledged for Nepal’s flood response and recovery has exceeded $36 million, according to the State Department. However, detailed implementation arrangements, funding disbursement schedules and equipment delivery timelines have yet to be announced.
During the meeting, Hooker expressed sympathy on behalf of the US government for families who lost loved ones and communities devastated by the disaster. The State Department also reported that approximately 70 American citizens remained unaccounted for following the floods.
The meeting between Foreign Minister Khanal and Under Secretary Hooker took place as world leaders and senior officials gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
The additional assistance represents a further development in Nepal-US cooperation on humanitarian response, infrastructure reconstruction and disaster preparedness. Its implementation will be particularly relevant to Nepal’s longer-term recovery efforts, including restoring transportation links, supporting vulnerable communities and improving national capabilities to respond to future natural disasters.
