Kathmandu, Aug 25, Ghumrapat’ has been proposed as the Nepali name for the ‘tornado’ that hit Bara and Parsa districts in the late evening of March 31, which had killed 29 people and injured many more, causing massive property loss. A study team formed by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology under the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation come up with this recommendation.
The word was selected upon basing its nature of arrival and damages caused by it. It came in a cylindrical shape and ended with massive damages, said Department Director General Saraju Baidhya. The eight-member team also comprising meteorologists made field visits to the sites affected by the disaster and had shortlisted six names and among them, ‘Ghumrapat’ was chosen as the final one through voting system.
The word ‘Ghumrapat’ is new, so efforts would be made to incorporate it in the Nepali shabdakosh (dictionary). The volume of loss caused by the violent storm, its confirmation to be the tornado, how it occurred, its speed, length and coverage, and experiences of locals were taken into account during the study.
The committee submitted its report to the Ministry two weeks ago. The Ministry is planning to unveil the report after some preparations. It may be noted that, earlier, a six-member team comprising representatives from the ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) and The Small Earth Nepal visited the affected sites from April 3 to 7 and it was the same squad which confirmed the freak storm as the tornado. The Department said the information surrounding the incident could not be recorded as there was no radar near the affected site.
