The images and reports emerging from Nepal are a sobering reminder that nature does not wait for governments or communities to be ready. More than 1,000 people have reportedly died in devastating floods along the Nepal-Tibet border, while thousands remain missing. Rescue teams are racing against time to reach people trapped in mud-filled tunnels and isolated areas.

It is a tragedy of enormous proportions. But beyond the immediate grief, it raises an uncomfortable question for every country facing an increasingly unpredictable climate: Are we prepared for the worst?

For Rwanda, this question cannot be postponed. The Rwanda Meteorology Agency has forecast above-normal rainfall between September and December, with some parts of the country expected to receive as much as 1,000 millimetres of rain. The country has also identified 18,417 elements at risk of disasters, while its overall resilience has been rated at 46 per cent.

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Rwanda has experienced the deadly consequences of extreme rainfall before. The heavy rains of May 2023 claimed 136 lives and caused extensive destruction, particularly in the Western and Northern provinces. The lesson from that tragedy should be clear: preparedness is not an optional exercise undertaken when dark clouds appear.

Encouraging measures are already in place. A 24/7 National Emergency Command Centre is operational, evacuation sites have been established, disaster-response simulations have been conducted, and efforts are underway to strengthen early-warning systems.

But preparedness must go beyond this. Warnings must reach people in time, in languages and formats they understand. Local authorities must know exactly where vulnerable residents will be evacuated and how they will get there. Drainage channels must be cleared before they overflow, weak houses reinforced before they collapse, and people living in high-risk areas moved before, not after, disaster strikes.

ALSO READ: Unusually heavy rains forecast for September-December season

The warning system must also work for everyone, including persons with disabilities. A warning that part of the population cannot hear, see, or understand is not effective. Most importantly, citizens must take forecasts seriously. Avoiding a flooded road, heeding an evacuation order, or refusing to remain in a dangerous home during a storm may appear like small decisions. In a disaster, they can mean the difference between life and death.

The Nepal catastrophe should remind us that the worst-case scenario is not merely something to imagine. It is something to prepare for.