Kathmandu: Search and rescue operations continued on Thursday, August 27, as emergency teams battled damaged roads, disrupted communications and difficult mountainous terrain. Hundreds of foreign tourists are among those unaccounted for, with authorities on both sides of the border working to trace the missing.
Dramatic footage from the disaster zone showed a massive torrent of mud, water and debris surging through settlements, engulfing buildings and sweeping away vehicles and bridges. Entire communities along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems were affected.
In Nepal, authorities said hundreds remained missing as helicopters were deployed to evacuate survivors and reach areas cut off by the flooding. More than 100 people were rescued by Nepalese army helicopters on Thursday morning, while injured survivors were transported to Kathmandu for treatment.
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Across the border in Tibet, the strategically important Gyirong Port was also badly hit. Roads, power supplies and communications were damaged, while thick layers of mud covered parts of the area. Chinese emergency teams were dispatched to the border region as rescue operations intensified.
The destruction is also expected to disrupt cross-border economic activity. Gyirong is a major trading gateway between China and Nepal, and extensive damage to roads and other infrastructure could hamper the movement of goods between the two countries.
The disaster was initially associated with a seismic event reported in the region, but the US Geological Survey later determined that no earthquake had occurred.
“Additional analysis of nearby seismic stations, long-period seismic waves, and satellite imagery” showed that the seismic signal was instead generated by a massive glacial collapse and debris flow, the USGS said. The collapse produced catastrophic downstream flooding.
The event has renewed concerns over the growing risks facing Himalayan communities as glaciers retreat and mountain slopes become increasingly unstable. Melting glaciers can also create unstable lakes and increase the danger of sudden floods, landslides and glacial collapses.
Authorities warned that the death toll could rise substantially as rescuers continue searching through mud and debris for hundreds of people still unaccounted for.
