A catastrophic glacial collapse on the Nepal-Tibet border has triggered devastating flash floods, leaving more than 360 people dead and 1,400 missing.
The disaster highlights the extreme climate vulnerability of Himalayan river basins, sending water surging downstream into South Asia and forcing the evacuation of thousands in neighbouring India.
According to Nepali Police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle, Nepal’s death toll rose to 359 on Thursday, with bodies recovered from eight districts, reports The Kathmandu Post.
Authorities in China’s Tibet region reported at least three fatalities. Chitwan and Nawalparasi East saw the highest body recoveries as security forces continued rescue operations.
Stranded pilgrims and missing tourists
The tragedy has triggered an international crisis. Over 600 of the missing are tourists, including 517 foreigners and 63 US citizens, reports Al Jazeera.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Washington has rescued a handful of Americans and offered assistance, focusing on rescuing all citizens possible.
Regionally, around 200 Indian pilgrims on the Kailash Mansarovar route are stranded in Tibet.
India’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Randhir Jaiswal, said their Beijing embassy is co-ordinating evacuations, with 95 pilgrims in Darchen and others in Jilong and Zupultuk heading towards the border town of Hilsa.
Syed Sadique, a southern Indian travel agent, revealed that three dozen pilgrims from his 57-member group are missing, including his tour-guide son, Sayed Umar Farook.
The group was travelling on three buses when the deluge hit; although one bus carrying 20 escaped safely, passengers saw another plunge into a gorge.
Moreover, 73 Indian workers are missing from the Trisuli-1 Hydroelectric Power Station in central Nepal.
Several South Korean and Nepali workers at other hydro projects are also unaccounted for, prompting South Korea to announce a rescue mission.
Downstream, India has evacuated thousands from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand as the surge threatens the Gandak River Basin.
The glacial catalyst and downstream surge
The catastrophe began on Wednesday when the United States Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 5.2 glacier collapse, unleashing an ice and rock landslide in Tibet’s Lhende River, roughly 20 kilometres northeast of the Rasuwagadhi border crossing.
This debris temporarily dammed the river, forming a reservoir that burst hours later, sending a monstrous 10-metre (33ft) wall of water surging down the Trishuli and Narayani river systems.
The torrent swept away automatic flood-monitoring stations in the upper reaches of the Bhotekoshi river, leaving downstream communities with virtually no warning.
Dr Jakob Steiner, an Austrian geoscientist at the University of Graz who is currently based in Bangladesh, described the scale of the glacier collapse.
Observing satellite imagery from Planet Labs, Dr Steiner remarked that the lower section of the glacier appeared to have been cleanly severed “with a huge knife”. He added that the impact of such a massive glacial block falling from a great height would have felt like a bomb exploding.
Climate vulnerability and rising secondary threats
Although scientists caution against immediately attributing the single event to global warming, they warn that rising temperatures are rapidly destabilising the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.
Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), said rising temperatures are changing the region and melting its glaciers.
Sunil Acharya, a Kathmandu-based climate and public policy specialist, described the disaster as “a brutal example of what it means to be living in the front line of climate crisis,” urging international cooperation to limit greenhouse gases.
Sudarshan Neupane, WaterAid’s country director in Nepal, emphasised that safe drinking water, toilets, and hygiene are crucial to prevent disease outbreaks.
He lamented that local communities must repeatedly pick up the pieces of extreme disasters despite contributing negligibly to the global climate crisis.
Meanwhile, Kathmandu’s main hospital is overwhelmed with survivors airlifted by military and private commercial helicopters.
Al Jazeera’s Ramyata Limbu and Minelle Fernandez reported from the scene that survivors are suffering from horrific, high-impact injuries, including broken rib cages and severe scalp and skin damage.
In a further blow, Nepal’s disaster authority has warned of a secondary threat: a new lake formed by the river blockage is rising rapidly and is at risk of bursting, placing rescue teams on high alert.
In response, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has allocated $2 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for immediate relief.
Pope Leo XIV expressed deep sadness and sent spiritual closeness to the bereaved through a message from Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
