India, Sept. 1 -- During the recent Nepal-Tibet disaster, the Trishuli River reportedly rose by nearly nine metres in about 30 minutes. At least 19 bridges and roughly 40 kilometres of roads were reported damaged or destroyed in the initial assessment. These figures are not merely a measure of the flood's force. They expose a planning problem.

When a river rises nine metres within half an hour, warning time becomes as important as structural strength. When 19 bridges are lost in the same event, we are not looking at 19 separate engineering failures. We are looking at the collapse of a network. Villages lose access to hospitals, rescue teams lose access to communities, and food, fuel and communication are interrupted together.

Investigat...