Nepal Floods Expose Gaps in Warning, China Data Sharing
Victims of Nepal’s catastrophic floods had barely a few minutes’ warning before the waters came rushing through, highlighting gaps in high-altitude weather monitoring and data sharing with neighboring China.
Nepal's recent floods struck with little warning, exposing weaknesses in weather monitoring and transboundary data sharing with China. "People didn't get five minutes of lead time," warned Dharam Raj Uprety, head of Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. The floods were triggered by a glacial collapse near the China-Nepal border, sending torrents of ice, mud, and debris downstream via the Bhotekoshi River system.
Over 3,000 people are missing, including hydropower workers and foreigners. Efforts to improve disaster management involve drafting an early-warning system roadmap, enhancing transboundary data sharing, and installing more weather stations in high-altitude areas. Better forecasting and early warnings could save lives, protect infrastructure, and minimize tourism disruption.
China's President Xi Jinping has called for more glacier and glacial lake surveys across the Tibetan Plateau to prevent future disasters. China has also pledged to strengthen monitoring and early-warning systems to better identify disaster risks.
Written by urgent.news from Live Mint's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
