A sudden surge of water unleashed after an apparent ice-and-rock avalanche devastated communities in Nepal on Wednesday, killing at least eight people, damaging roads and hydropower facilities and leaving hundreds of tourists reported missing.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
At least eight people were killed and hundreds more were reported missing Wednesday after an avalanche involving ice and rock apparently blocked a river in Nepal before releasing a powerful flash flood through villages and infrastructure downstream.
Officials said 384 tourists were reported missing in the aftermath of the disaster, including 291 foreign visitors from countries that included India, the United States, the United Kingdom and Malaysia.
The flooding began around 9 a.m. when the Bhotekoshi River overflowed, sending a destructive torrent through communities in the Himalayan region.
Several villages were damaged or destroyed, while roads and hydropower projects also sustained significant damage.
Authorities issued warnings across several districts and urged residents to remain away from the banks of the Bhotekoshi, Trishuli and Narayani rivers as concerns persisted about additional flooding and dangerous water levels.
Nepal has sought international assistance with the search and rescue operation.
“We have asked both India and China to help us with the rescue efforts,” Nepali government spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel said.
Rasuwa district was among the hardest-hit areas.
The district experienced another serious flash flood in August last year after a glacial lake in neighboring Tibet overflowed. Researchers linked that event to unusually high temperatures in the mountain region.
Nine people died in that disaster, and important infrastructure was damaged, including a bridge connecting Nepal and China.
Scientists examining Wednesday’s flooding believe the latest disaster developed differently.
Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said the available evidence indicates that an avalanche originating from a glacier on the Nepalese side likely triggered the flooding.
The Lhende Khola River, which feeds into the Bhotekoshi River, experienced the most severe flooding Wednesday, according to the researchers.
Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist with the research organization, said an avalanche temporarily blocked the river before the accumulated water broke through.
“The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in fourteen 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,” Sanyal said.
The rapid sequence illustrates the danger posed when ice, rock or other debris suddenly obstructs a mountain river. Water can accumulate behind the obstruction and then rush downstream when the natural dam fails, leaving communities with little time to react.
Sanyal said warning systems will become increasingly important as environmental conditions change across the Himalayan mountain range.
“In a warming Himalaya, early warning is the first line of adaptation,” he said.
The broader Himalayan region stretches across Nepal and several neighboring countries, including India, and has long faced hazards from landslides, heavy rainfall and flooding.
Researchers say the mountains are particularly vulnerable because temperatures in the region are increasing faster than the global average.
Scientists have attributed part of that warming to human-caused climate change and have documented changes including more frequent or severe heat waves, heavy rainfall and accelerated glacier melting.
Research conducted by the Kathmandu-based climate group earlier this year found that glaciers throughout the Hindu Kush Himalaya region have been losing ice at an accelerating pace.
According to the researchers, the rate of ice loss has doubled since 2000, with rising global temperatures identified as the primary factor.
The latest flood adds another major disaster to a region already grappling with rapidly changing mountain conditions.
Emergency crews now face the immediate task of locating the hundreds of people reported missing, including foreign tourists, while assessing damage across affected communities and determining whether additional areas remain at risk.
With roads and other infrastructure damaged, rescue operations could also be complicated by access problems in the mountainous terrain.
Authorities have continued urging residents to avoid vulnerable riverbanks while Nepal coordinates rescue assistance with neighboring India and China and officials work to establish the full scale of the destruction.
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