On August 26, a massive landslide and flooding near the Nepal-China border have resulted in significant casualties. The disaster is believed to be linked to glacier collapse in the Himalayas due to global warming, raising concerns about the potential for similar events in the future.
According to reports from Reuters and BBC citing the Nepalese Ministry of Home Affairs' National Emergency Operations Center, as of August 27, authorities have recovered 165 bodies. The number of missing persons stands at 826, which includes 579 tourists (466 foreigners and 113 Nepalese), security personnel (44 from the Nepal Army, 28 from the Nepal Police, and 13 from the Armed Police), and 162 local residents. The floods have also caused significant damage to infrastructure, with 19 bridges destroyed and 40 kilometers of roads washed away. The destruction of the Friendship Bridge, a key trade route between Nepal and Tibet, is expected to severely disrupt exchanges between Nepal and China.
Many of the affected tourists were visiting the region for pilgrimages to sacred sites of Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Tibetan Buddhism, located between Nepal and Tibet.
In Tibet, the disaster has also caused severe damage, with state-run China Central Television (CCTV) reporting three deaths and 558 missing as of the same morning. Among the missing in China, approximately 260 are foreign tourists.
As a result, the total death toll in Nepal and China has risen to 168, with 1,384 people reported missing. However, rescue operations are facing challenges, and the scale of the disaster is expected to increase.
The international community has expressed condolences and offered support. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated, "I extend my deepest condolences to all those affected" and affirmed support for the Nepalese government's rescue efforts. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the provision of emergency medical supplies to Nepal. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose country has over 300 missing citizens, pledged "all possible assistance," while Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a concerted effort in rescue operations.
Initially, an earthquake was suspected to be the cause of the landslide and flooding, but further analysis suggests that glacier collapse due to warming is a more likely factor. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initially classified the disaster as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake, but later assessments indicated that "glacier collapse and debris flows" led to "a series of large-scale damages downstream."
Nepalese authorities have also indicated the possibility of a massive glacier collapse in the Himalayas, which may have dragged rocks and other debris along with it. They reported that despite no rainfall in the area, sediment flowed into the Rende Kola River at the Nepal-China border, causing flooding that likely affected tributaries such as the Bote Kosi and Trishuli rivers.
The Hindu reported that a sudden flood occurred in the Bote Kosi River last July, resulting in nine deaths, despite no rainfall. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has warned of the potential for secondary flooding due to debris carried into the river by the landslide.
This disaster is ultimately attributed to global warming, which has accelerated the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas. Experts predict that similar natural disasters are likely to occur in the future. Research from Nepalese scientists indicates that the rate of glacier melting in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region has doubled since 2000.
Goran Ekström, a seismologist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, described the landslide and flooding as "a tremendous geophysical event," noting that the frequency of landslides in mountainous regions is increasing, which is related to glacier melting. The Nepalese media outlet Ratopati emphasized that "the cruel reality of climate change is that the countries least responsible for it are suffering the most," highlighting the need for international cooperation to address extreme weather events.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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