How Engineers Are Using Whatsapp To Guide Nepal's Flood Rescue Efforts
Engineers and rescue workers in Nepal are utilizing a WhatsApp group to coordinate search and rescue efforts following a devastating flash flood in the Trishuli valley. The group serves as a vital communication hub for sharing technical drawings and tunnel layouts to locate missing persons.
Why it matters
This highlights the role of modern, accessible communication tools in disaster management and emergency response in challenging terrains.
An army of experts in a WhatsApp group is guiding rescue workers scouring a Nepali valley after a huge flash flood more than a week ago as they desperately search for anyone who may be alive inside tunnels of devastated hydropower plants.The messaging group was set up by engineers before the wall of water, mud and rock crashed down the Trishuli valley in Nepal on August 26. It has since become a valuable tool alongside helicopters and heavy machinery in the race to find survivors.The authorities hope some of the about 900 people reported missing from six hydropower plants - at least three of which were under construction - may have escaped the deluge because they worked in or fled into the tunnels.Even finding entrances to some of the tunnels, which were designed to channel water or used to access hydropower facilities, is tough now after the flood deposited 2.2…
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