Glacier collapse and ice avalanche likely fueled deadly Nepal flash flood
Researchers have long sounded alarm bells on the vulnerability of the so-called Third Pole to warming temperatures, and about the rising potential for disasters.
A massive chunk of a glacier disintegrated and an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 shook the area around 8:37 a.m. local time on Wednesday, triggering a deadly flash flood in Himalayan river valleys, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Researchers are working to determine the precise factors that led to this catastrophic event.
Simon Allen, a glacial hazards expert at the University of Zurich, confirmed that a large ice avalanche, likely composed of ice and rock, detached from the glacier and turned into a destructive flood.
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- A glacier collapse is most likely cause of the Nepal disaster newscientist.com
- Nepal flash flood wipes out villages after glacier collapse earthsky.org
- 'Like a bomb exploded': How a 2000-ft wide glacier triggered deadly Nepal floods timesofindia.indiatimes.com
- Glacier collapse may have triggered deadly Nepal flash flood, experts say koreatimes.co.kr
- What IMD said about Nepal flash floods: Glacier lake outburst, alert for Gandak river hindustantimes.com
