WorldEnvironment
Nepal flood disaster highlights blind spot in Himalayan glacier risk assessment
The August 26 catastrophe along the Nepal-Tibet border killed hundreds and left thousands missing. Scientists say it was not a conventional glacial lake outburst flood but an ice-rock collapse that turned into a debris flow, exposing a dangerous gap in regional disaster preparedness.
KATHMANDU — The August 26 disaster along the Nepal-Tibet border, which killed hundreds and left thousands missing, has revealed a dangerous blind spot in how the region prepares for glacier-related hazards. According to glaciologist Miriam Jackson, who has extensive Himalayan experience, the event was not a conventional Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). Instead, it began with an ice-rock collapse that rapidly fluidised into a debris flow before entering a river and producing a devastating downstream flood. Scientists and governments have increasingly focused on identifying dangerous glacial lakes, but this catastrophe suggests that some of the most destructive events may start without a lake at all. Jackson said the event was not a GLOF but an ice-rock collapse that became fluidised, underscoring the difficulty of predicting such sudden collapses and ice-rock avalanches.
- climate change
- Nepal floods
- Melting glaciers
- Himalayan glaciers
- Nepal-Tibet floods
From
WorldEnvironment
Nepal flood disaster highlights blind spot in Himalayan glacier risk assessment
The August 26 catastrophe along the Nepal-Tibet border killed hundreds and left thousands missing. Scientists say it was not a conventional glacial lake outburst flood but an ice-rock collapse that turned into a debris flow, exposing a dangerous gap in regional disaster preparedness.
KATHMANDU — The August 26 disaster along the Nepal-Tibet border, which killed hundreds and left thousands missing, has revealed a dangerous blind spot in how the region prepares for glacier-related hazards. According to glaciologist Miriam Jackson, who has extensive Himalayan experience, the event was not a conventional Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). Instead, it began with an ice-rock collapse that rapidly fluidised into a debris flow before entering a river and producing a devastating downstream flood. Scientists and governments have increasingly focused on identifying dangerous glacial lakes, but this catastrophe suggests that some of the most destructive events may start without a lake at all. Jackson said the event was not a GLOF but an ice-rock collapse that became fluidised, underscoring the difficulty of predicting such sudden collapses and ice-rock avalanches.
- climate change
- Nepal floods
- Melting glaciers
- Himalayan glaciers
- Nepal-Tibet floods
From