At least 160 people have died in massive flooding and landslides in the Himalayan mountains of north-central Nepal, along the border with China. A total of 403 people are missing, including nine South Koreans working for Korea South-East Power and Doosan Enerbility, and the disaster initially blamed on an earthquake has now been identified as the result of a glacier collapse and debris flows rather than seismic activity.
Nepalese police recovered 157 bodies in an extensive search operation, according to reports from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse on the 26th. China's state broadcaster CCTV reported that three people died in the Tibetan region near the border, bringing the combined death toll in the two countries to at least 160.
Nepal's tourism authorities counted 403 tourists as missing, of whom 341 are foreign nationals. Chinese authorities have separately identified 265 people as missing in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Nine South Koreans who had been working near a hydroelectric power plant construction site remain unreachable. Ten other South Koreans who had been stranded in the area have been confirmed safe.
The government plans to dispatch a joint rapid response team to Nepal, composed of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Fire Agency and the Korean National Police Agency, to support search and rescue efforts for the missing South Koreans.
The disaster struck the Rasuwa district north of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu and other areas along the border with China. Sudden torrents of water and debris flows swept rapidly down valleys, destroying villages, roads and power facilities.
Some villages were buried entirely under mud and debris, and at least 19 bridges were washed away. Extensive damage to roads and infrastructure has continued to hamper rescue teams' access to the affected areas.
Officials on the ground have raised the possibility of further damage. An official at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) warned that blockages remain in the upper reaches of rivers along the Nepal-China border, raising the risk of another flood.
A Signal Read as a 'Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake' Was Actually a Glacier Collapse
The analysis of what caused the disaster has changed. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) initially attributed the landslides and flooding to a magnitude 4.4 earthquake near the Nepal-China border.
Further analysis concluded that no earthquake had occurred. After examining data from nearby seismic stations, long-period seismic waves and satellite imagery, the USGS determined that the vibrations recorded at the time were generated by the collapse of a massive glacier and debris flow. The agency reclassified the event as a landslide equivalent to magnitude 5.2.
In other words, an earthquake did not cause the glacier to collapse. Rather, the collapse of an enormous mass of ice and rock produced an impact that registered as a signal resembling an earthquake. Experts have suggested that ice and rock from the collapsing glacier may have blocked the river or abruptly altered its course before sending large volumes of water and debris cascading downstream.
Analysts also point to growing risks of such glacier collapses and landslides as warming melts Himalayan glaciers at an accelerating pace. With rescue operations continuing and the possibility of additional flooding raised, local authorities are pressing ahead with search efforts and safety measures in the affected areas.
