KATHMANDU, Nepal | Rescue teams continued searching Saturday for nearly 3,000 people missing after catastrophic flash floods along the Nepal-China border, as survivors were moved to safer areas and authorities monitored a newly formed lake whose threat of bursting has eased but not disappeared.
At least 676 people have died in Nepal and China’s Tibet region, according to the Associated Press, with most of the casualties reported in Nepal’s Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts. More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal, while helicopters have been used to evacuate survivors and deliver emergency supplies to communities cut off by the disaster.
Poor weather temporarily disrupted aerial rescue operations, adding to the difficulties faced by rescuers working through steep terrain, thick mud and extensive debris. More than 100 people are believed to remain trapped inside a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project, according to AP. Families have meanwhile been checking hospital lists and relief centers for information about missing relatives.
The disaster was triggered on August 26 after an ice and rock avalanche associated with a glacier collapse sent a massive surge of water, mud and debris through mountain river systems. Satellite imagery and expert analysis indicate that part of a glacier on Langtang Lirung collapsed from high altitude, sending debris into the valley and causing the destructive flood.
The disaster also raised fears of a second major flood from a newly formed lake near the Nepal-China border. Reuters reported Saturday that the immediate risk had declined as the lake’s water level fell. Satellite imagery showed the lake had shrunk by about 21,000 square meters since Thursday, leaving it at roughly 99,000 square meters. Authorities are continuing to monitor the area because another large body of water near the glacier could still pose a secondary hazard.
The flooding destroyed roads, bridges, homes and hydropower facilities and severely damaged the Gyirong border crossing, an important trade route between Nepal and China. A Chinese rescue team that reached the border crossing found extensive destruction, with Reuters describing the site as “nothing but ruins.”
Nepal has estimated that rebuilding could cost between $4 billion and $5 billion, nearly one-tenth of its economy. The figure is lower than the estimated reconstruction cost following the 2015 earthquake, which killed nearly 9,000 people and caused about $7 billion in physical damage, according to the World Bank.
The latest disaster has also renewed concern about the vulnerability of the Himalayas to climate-related hazards. Nepal has lost close to one-third of its glacier ice over the past three decades, according to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. Scientists caution that while the precise causes of individual glacier collapses require further study, warming temperatures are contributing to increasing instability in high-mountain environments.
For now, rescuers remain focused on reaching isolated communities and locating the missing, while authorities work to prevent further flooding and begin assessing the enormous task of rebuilding damaged communities and infrastructure.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
