What We Know — and Don’t Know — About What Caused the Nepal Flood Wave
- On Wednesday, a massive wave of floodwater engulfed a Nepal-China border crossing, forcing residents to flee the area immediately. Security camera footage captured the sudden, destructive surge as it crashed through the mountainous region.
- Following the disaster, investigators are checking if a 4.4 magnitude earthquake reported by the Geological Survey caused the landslide. The event likely involved an "avalanche" of ice and rock tearing down into the Lhende Khola River.
- Daniel Shugar, a geologist at the University of California, reported the event "was probably seismic energy released by a landslide." His group theorizes a rock landslide created a rapidly moving, water-logged mix of sediment, ice, and rock.
- Nepal remains vulnerable to "glacial lake outbursts," where melting glacier-formed lakes burst through dams, sending debris cascading down valleys. Tom Robinson, a lecturer at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, noted these dams are no different to constructed ones.
- Climate change often plays a role in these monsoon-fueled events, as glacier ice loss rates in the Hindu Kush Himalaya have doubled since 2000, creating enormous risks for the nearly 2 million people living downstream of them.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Flash floods in Nepal have caused massive devastation in several areas. Three possibilities are being investigated as to where the river's water suddenly came from. Meanwhile, the threat of the Gandak River reaching India via the Ganges is also being monitored.
At least 100 people have lost their lives, while the number is expected to rise as the water level recedes - The number of missing tourists is now 579
Wall of water wipes out Nepal border crossing as nation is devastated by flash flood
CCTV captured the moment a wall of water wiped out a border crossing in Nepal as flash floods devastated the region. Video footage showed the moment the Gyirong checkpoint, the main tourist crossing point between Nepal and Tibet, was destroyed at 11am local time on Tuesday (August 26). Almost 400 foreign tourists have been reported missing. It is suspected that an earthquake struck the region and triggered an ice-rock avalanche on the Lhende Kho…
People flee as huge wave of floodwater engulfs Nepal-China border crossing
Security camera footage shows the shocking moment flood water crashes through the Nepal-China border area. People are seen running away as the water appears to wipe out everything in its path.
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