Translation:
Yes, it is actually the case that I have been living in Nepal for two years, and about a week ago, a mountain slope collapsed because the ice holding the rocks together had partially melted. This probably killed 5,000 or 6,000 people and completely swept away several settlements.
It is a tragic event, but of course, you have to look at it in perspective. This is only a small part of Nepal. 95% of the country is not affected by it. There was no flooding in the major cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara. So tourists can still travel there as usual.
And, of course, the situation is now almost the opposite: people are saying, “If you want to show solidarity with Nepal, then come here now.” There is even a campaign in Nepal along those lines.
But the reality is that there will be long-term damage because, unfortunately, crisis communication did not work very well at the beginning. The country was not sufficiently prepared for something like this, and this will probably stay in the minds of many people.
“Nepal is not safe. I’d rather not go there. Who knows if something like this will happen again?”
And that will certainly be a task for the future. This is not only an issue for Nepal; it is the same for other countries, of course. They need to be prepared, because climate change is not going away. There will also be earthquakes, heatwaves, forest fires, and so on in other countries.
Being prepared from the very beginning also influences what is communicated in the media worldwide and helps ensure that too much misinformation is not spread. It also means communicating this message right from the start: “This is terrible, what has happened, but this is not the whole country. It is only a small part of it.”
We are here in India, for example. If something happens in Kolkata, it has virtually no impact on Kerala. They are thousands of kilometres apart. But in the media, especially the further away you are from the actual location, everything is often thrown into the same pot. People say, “There is a problem in India,” when the actual incident may be happening in just one particular place.
And it is the same in Nepal. The main tourist areas are the two cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara, Chitwan National Park, and Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. All of these places are freely accessible; nothing has happened there, and they are very beautiful.
I can only recommend that everyone go there and see the situation for themselves, firsthand.
Original video in German: https://www.reisebuero-magazin.de/acutalites-en-video/c/0/i/97947857/prof-dr-wolfgang-arlt-mit-infos-zur-nepal-flut