Nepal floods: Engineers in a WhatsApp group are guiding tunnel rescue efforts
Engineers are using a WhatsApp group to coordinate rescue efforts following devastating flash floods in Nepal that buried several hydropower plants. The group has become a critical communication hub for sharing technical drawings and locating survivors in tunnels.
Why it matters
It highlights the role of digital communication tools in disaster management and emergency response in remote areas.
An army of experts in a WhatsApp group is guiding rescue workers scouring a Nepali valley after a massive flash flood more than a week ago, as they desperately search for anyone who may still be alive inside the 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.
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