At least 160 people have been killed after an avalanche of ice and rock sent massive flash floods through parts of Nepal and China on Wednesday, wiping out villages and badly damaging roads, bridges and power infrastructure. In Nepal, police said 157 bodies had been recovered, while neighbouring China reported at least three deaths and 265 people missing in a border community in Tibet.
Nepalese officials said 403 people were missing, including 341 foreign nationals. Sunil Sharma, a tourism board spokesperson, said those unaccounted for included 133 people from India who had been on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. Also missing were 47 from the United States, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 24 from Canada.
The Bhotekoshi River flooded at about 9am on Wednesday, around 1pm AEST, officials said. Residents in several Nepal districts were warned to stay away from the banks of the Bhotekoshi, Trishuli and Narayani rivers. In low-lying areas, people were moved to safer ground as authorities warned a second flood could still occur because a blockage remains upstream.
The worst-hit district was Rasuwa, where at least 62 missing Nepali citizens were among hundreds of local trekkers in the Gosaikunda Lake area during the Janai Purnima festival on Friday, Sharma said. Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told The Associated Press that at least 28 police officials were also missing.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah said in a Facebook post that more than 250 people had been rescued by army helicopter, while police and the military continued search efforts in flood-hit areas. “We have asked both India and China to help us with the rescue efforts,” said Sasmit Pokharel, a spokesperson for the Nepali government. China has sent at least 574 rescuers to the land crossing, while India said it was working closely with Kathmandu on rescue and relief.
On the border, torrents tore through roads, bridges, houses and hydropower projects, and a mudslide slammed into Gyirong Port, a key crossing with Tibet, cutting roads, communications and power links.
It is suspected an earthquake triggered the disaster. The US Geological Survey recorded a 4.4-magnitude quake early Wednesday about 100 kilometres north of Kathmandu, near the border with China’s autonomous region of Tibet. Officials believe the quake may have set off an ice-rock avalanche on the Lhende Khola river in Nepal, which flows through both Nepal and Tibet.
Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said a glacier avalanche was the likely cause of Wednesday’s flash flood. They said the Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi River, saw the heaviest flooding. “The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice rock avalanche from a glacier on the Nepal side that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream,” said Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the climate research group. “In a warming Himalaya, early warning is the first line of adaptation,” he added.
The Australian Embassy in Nepal, in a joint statement with the embassies of Finland, France, Norway, Switzerland and United Kingdom, said: “We are deeply saddened by the devastating flooding in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts and surrounding areas. “Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster. We express our solidarity with the people of Nepal during this difficult time. We encourage all those in affected areas to follow the guidance of local authorities and official safety advisories as the situation continues to evolve.”
Flood alerts were also issued in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which border Nepal, because several Himalayan rivers flow into their plains. Rasuwa suffered a similar disaster in August last year, when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed after high temperatures in the mountain region. Nine people died and vital infrastructure, including a bridge between the two countries, was damaged.
Researchers have found the Himalayan region, spanning Nepal and nearby countries including India, is especially exposed to heavy rain, floods and landslides because it is warming faster than the rest of the world due to climate change. Earlier this year, the Kathmandu research group said glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya are melting faster, with ice loss rates having doubled since 2000.
