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Glacial trigger, rising toll
A flash flood and landslide disaster along the Nepal-Tibet border region killed at least 469 people in the Rasuwagadhi area and nearby regions near the Chinese border, after Nepali police announced an increase in the death toll in a statement issued on Friday.
“a 5.2-magnitude landslide was registered in Nepal on Wednesday”
The same reports said more than 1,300 people were missing, including foreigners, while the latest official toll indicated 359 killed and 910 others missing, and China’s official television CCTV reported three deaths and 558 people missing on the Tibetan side of the border.
The United States Geological Survey said it detected an earthquake before the floods, then revised its data to indicate that the seismic event, which registered magnitude 5.2, was actually caused by an ice collapse.
Experts at the Integrated Mountain Development International Centre (ICIMOD), based in Kathmandu, said that the collapse of ice in mountainous areas led to a glacial outburst flood that, in turn, caused the flooding.
In a separate update, 20Minutos said the death toll from the devastating flood on Wednesday in the Bhote Koshi basin had reached 750, with almost 3,000 people missing as searching continued on a fifth day hampered by new landslides and rains.
Rescue disruptions and alerts
As search and rescue continued, 20Minutos reported that China evacuated rescue teams near the Gyirong border crossing after detecting a water accumulation following another landslide, while Nepal urged extreme caution due to rising water levels in the Bhote Koshi basin amid a weather alert.
The Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management reported that a new landslide detected downstream from the natural dam formed by the flood created another water accumulation that forced the relocation of rescue teams near the Gyirong border crossing, with CCTV describing the released material as partially blocking the channel and forming a new barrier.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction Authority warned on Sunday of an increase in flow in the Bhote Koshi basin and urged “Search, rescue and relief teams in the affected areas, including Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan and others, as well as those in the affected zones, are urged to exercise extreme caution,”.
In addition to flood risk, Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology declared a yellow alert (the lowest level) for heavy rainfall in the area affected by the flood, with precipitation expected to continue at least until Monday and further hampering rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, ABC News reported that the flooding occurred in the northern Rasuwa district along the border with Tibet at around 8:40 a.m. local time Wednesday, and that the flooding inundated areas along the Trishuli River, burying some buildings and damaging bridges and roadways.
Science explanations and stakes
ABC News quoted geophysicist Göran Ekström of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University saying the floods could be tracked to a “massive geophysical event” set off a chain reaction Wednesday.
“a "massive geophysical event" set off a chain reaction Wednesday”
Ekström told ABC News that a landslide in the mountain pass took place during the day that took away a large chunk of land with glacial ice on top, and he estimated the flood waters were “outrageously high,” possibly 130-160 feet high and moving as fast as 44 miles per hour.
The same ABC News report said a second landslide occurred about three hours after the first, raising concerns that the first landslide left slopes unstable and that more landslides could occur in the region.
In the U.S. response, ABC News reported that the State Department said it was “standing with the people of Nepal” and would provide “$3.6 million worth of life-saving humanitarian assistance,” including up to three months of emergency food assistance to up to 10,000 flood-affected households.
With casualties and missing people still changing, 20Minutos said nearly 3,000 people remained missing as floods and landslides continued to occur, while ABC News said over 2,000 people were missing and at least 543 bodies had been recovered across the region.