Nepal Warns of Possible Fresh Flooding as Communities Grapple with Devastation

Authorities in Nepal issued fresh flood warnings on Sunday and advised residents in flood-stricken areas to remain highly vigilant following river levels rising in the Bhotekoshi River. Early Sunday, rescue teams worked to clear a major highway linking Kathmandu to one of the regions hardest hit by the catastrophic floods of Wednesday, which resulted in at least 800 deaths and over 3,000 people missing in Nepal and Tibet.

This came after Chinese authorities informed their Nepalese counterparts about the increased water flow upstream, according to Dharam Raj Uprety, the chief executive of Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

The Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that a new lake formed after Wednesday’s floods high in the mountains had largely drained. However, the ministry cautioned that a crater 5.6 kilometers upstream, holding an estimated 1.4 million cubic meters of water, still posed a risk and required monitoring. Nepal’s disaster agency reported the death toll had risen to 788 with 2,502 missing, while Chinese authorities stated 16 fatalities and 546 people were still missing on the Chinese side of the border.

The missing included hundreds of people from over a dozen countries who were in the region for various reasons.

In one of the worst-affected regions in Nepal, Dhading, some residents began returning to their homes to salvage what they could. Amid debris-strewn homes, residents sifted through mud and rubble, rescuing items they could recover. One man was shown returning for his chickens, which he found alive and brought to safety. Sharmila Tamang, a resident, expressed her despair, saying, “Everything is finished. Nothing is left. Not even our home.”

At a severely damaged power plant serving over 20,000 people across four districts, workers started inspecting the facility on Sunday to assess the destruction. In the town of Galchhi, residents sought higher ground on a nearby bridge and watched as the river surged by. Some pointed to large rocks that had been washed downstream during earlier floods, while others on a suspension bridge were advised to stay away with whistles.

The river’s overflowing sediment enveloped entire villages in thick, gray-brown mud. Rice terraces along the riverside were decimated by landslides. While some homes and businesses were left intact, they remained without electricity, with twisted power line poles and wires tangled in the mud. Residents recounted the difficulty of constant alarms and the need to frequently relocate to higher ground, especially at night.

Many carried their elderly parents, citing the exhaustion and ongoing challenges faced by those still alive.

The flash floods began on Wednesday after a glacial collapse high in the Himalayan region. Scientists who studied satellite images revealed that bedrock underneath a glacier had collapsed, taking part of the glacier with it. This rockfall registered as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake, causing rocks and melted water to swell the rivers below, resulting in a torrent that swept away buildings, bridges, and earth downstream in both Nepal and Tibet.

Nepal’s foreign minister called for a global response to climate change, emphasizing that Nepal bears a disproportionate share of its impact despite contributing only 0.1% to global emissions. Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal stated, “Despite having only 0.1% contribution to the global emissions, people of Nepal have become major victims of climate change.”

While scientists caution that drawing a direct link between global warming and the catastrophe is premature, they agree that rising Earth temperatures, caused by human activities like burning fossil fuels, increase the likelihood of such disasters, particularly in the rapidly warming Himalayan mountains.