Environment & Climate
Glacier collapse triggers deadly flash flood along Nepal-Tibet border
A massive ice-rock avalanche from Langtang Lirung killed hundreds and left over a thousand missing as scientists link rising temperatures to mountain instability.
The short version
- A massive wall of ice collapsed from the 7,000-metre Langtang Lirung mountain, triggering a flash flood along the Bhotekoshi River that killed at least 360 people and left 1,400 missing.
- US Geological Survey analysis revealed the disaster was caused by a glacier collapse rather than an initial suspected magnitude 4.4 earthquake, with the impact generating seismic energy equivalent to a magnitude 5.2 event.
- Glaciologists and scientists attribute the detachment to global warming and intense regional heatwaves that thawed ice holding the mountain's bedrock together.
- Emergency services are searching for survivors while experts call for expanded early warning systems in high mountain valleys.
Key facts
- A flash flood along the Bhotekoshi River destroyed buildings and roads across communities near the Nepal-Tibet border, leaving at least 360 dead and 1,400 missing.[The Guardian]
- The United States Geological Survey determined that long-period seismic waves were caused by an ice-rock avalanche and debris flow rather than an earthquake, generating seismic energy equivalent to a magnitude 5.2 event.[The Guardian]
- Downstream water levels in the Lhende Khola and Bhotekoshi rivers surged by 7 to 9 metres within 30 minutes following the impact, according to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.[The Guardian]
- Sensors operated by a British Antarctic Survey team recorded peak ground temperatures two days before the collapse, reaching their highest point in two years.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- Scientists are continuing to investigate the precise mechanical trigger and sequence of events behind the collapse.[The Guardian]
Sources
- Climate crisis could be destabilising mountain areas like Nepal, experts warnThe Guardian - World