A group of technology and civil engineering experts has suddenly\nbecome the frontline of rescue efforts in Nepal. Through a specialised\nWhatsApp group, they are guiding evacuation teams as they struggle to\nsearch the dark passages deep underground, searching for survivors\ntrapped in hydroelectric power plant (PLTA) tunnels following\ndevastating flash floods.<\/p>\n
This emergency messaging group was essentially formed by local\nengineers just before walls of water, mud, and rocks struck the Trishuli\nValley region in Nepal on Wednesday (26\/8). Over time, the WhatsApp\ngroup has transformed into a tactical command centre as crucial as\nhelicopters and heavy machinery on the ground.<\/p>\n
Local authorities suspect that some of the approximately 900 people\nreported missing from six power plant complexes\u2014three of which are still\nunder construction\u2014managed to survive the deadly onslaught by taking\nshelter inside tunnels when the disaster struck.<\/p>\n
However, simply locating the tunnel entrances has become a massive\nchallenge. The floods have disgorged 2.2 million tonnes of mud and\ndebris, completely altering the geographical contours of the valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you send the layout image for Chilime?\u201d wrote a government\nofficial in the engineers\u2019 WhatsApp group as SAR teams searched the\nruins of the Chilime power plant, buried in the Himalayan highlands near\nthe Chinese border, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n
Shortly after, one of the 500 members of the expert group immediately\nsent a blueprint of the powerhouse along with detailed maps of\nunderground evacuation routes. This digital conversation has become\nvital navigation for teams in the red zone.<\/p>\n
To date, no signs of life have been found within the 22-megawatt (MW)\nChilime power plant tunnels or other facilities downstream.\nNevertheless, the Nepal Independent Power Producers Association\nindicates that at least eight people remain trapped at Chilime, while\nthe Nepal Electricity Authority stated that 46 lives are feared trapped\nat the Rasuwagadhi power plant in the southern region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe floods have changed the terrain contours around the tunnels and\ndamaged their original structures, while mud, rocks, and debris have\naccumulated inside,\u201d said Nepal Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet.<\/p>\n
The flash flood disaster, triggered by a glacier collapse, has\nclaimed over 1,200 lives, while 4,000 others remain missing. The tragedy\nhas also paralysed 10% of Nepal\u2019s total national power generation\ncapacity.<\/p>\n
At the Rasuwagulating power plant, rescue teams managed to push 250\nmetres into the tunnels before hitting a wall of total sediment\nblockage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working to reach back inside to search for victims,\u201d said\nAmshu Kiran Shahi of the Nepal Electricity Authority\u2019s Board of\nDirectors, who believes dozens of workers may be surviving in\nunderground air pockets that still have logistical reserves.<\/p>\n
Project managers have also utilised the WhatsApp group network to\ncontact former workers to map the labyrinth of tunnels that have changed\nshape. At the Upper Trishuli 3A power plant project, rescue teams had to\nwork for six days just to clear the tunnel entrance buried by landslides\nand supply oxygen through pipes to maintain hope for victims potentially\ntrapped in narrow cavities.<\/p>\n
Behind this massive operation, dramatic rescue stories are emerging.\nJan Jiwan Thakur, a civil engineer at Upper Trishuli 1, escaped death\nafter receiving an early warning mere seconds before a wave of mud hit\nhis office. Alongside 100 colleagues, he ran up the hillside, watching\nhis workplace levelled to the ground within minutes.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the families of the victims are left clinging to a glimmer\nof hope. Rajesh Shrestha, the father of an environmental engineer named\nRajish (30) who went missing at Upper Trishuli 1, continues to watch the\nroad outside his house.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I look outside, I imagine seeing him carrying his bag and\ncoming home,\u201d Shrestha said softly. \u201cI survive only on the hope that he\nwill return.\u201d<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nation-paralyzed-by-flash-floods-whatsapp-groups-become-lifeline-1788512182", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }