KATHMANDU, July 31 -- Kathmandu Valley's geography gives it several strategic advantages. It is too high for malaria, but too low for much snow and ice. That, and its location between north Indian population centres and the high Himalayan passes, positioned it perfectly as a historic entrepot.
But the Valley also suffers from earthquakes and flooding. The floods hit almost every year during the monsoon, and used to bring soil-restoring silt to the farms, but more recently have delivered mostly damage and devastation.
Because the floods appear quickly - some rivers quadruple in size in just a few hours - we call them 'flash floods'. We tend to blame nature and monsoon downpours for them, and indeed the Valley has experienced such floods fo...