Chinese authorities warned on Friday of the risk of a new disaster in the area affected by the devastating flood on Tuesday at the border with Nepal, after detecting that a lake formed by the remains of the collapsed glacier has begun to overflow, forcing the suspension of search and rescue operations in the area.
Read more From the Transition to the pandemic: the dizzying 28 years of the Great Guachaca Summit
According to information gathered by the Chinese state television channel, CCTV, rescue teams had reached an area about three kilometers from the Gyrong port at the border when it was detected that the barrier lake, with about two million cubic meters of water and created upstream by the enormous flood, had begun to overflow.
The situation has been considered high risk due to possible flooding or landslides of mud and rocks, which is why the authorities have ordered the rescue teams to move to another area considered safe while awaiting orders from the command center coordinating the operations, with the aim of trying to avoid further casualties.
So far, Chinese authorities have relocated nearly 500 people in areas affected by the flood and debris avalanche, while 555 tourists trapped in this area near the border with Nepal have been evacuated, with no details about their identities so far.
An expert from the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources emphasized during the day that the disaster was a chain of events that began with a high-altitude ice avalanche and evolved into a high-speed debris flow before impacting the border facilities in Gyirong, ruling out the possibility of a glacial lake overflow.
In this regard, Guo Zhaocheng, director of the research and monitoring center for geological disasters at the Chinese Center for Aerogeophysical Prospecting and Remote Sensing for Natural Resources, argued that the ice avalanche, coming from a high-altitude glacier, descended the slope and became a high-speed debris flow that entered the Donglin Tsangpo river before continuing its course towards Nepal, according to the People’s Daily newspaper.
Read more Serbia: controversy over State funeral announcement for war criminal Ratko Mladic
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) highlighted on Thursday that the devastating flood was caused by “the collapse of a glacier” upstream, before emphasizing that satellite images studied have led to the conclusion that “no earthquake” took place in the area that could be linked to the catastrophe.
Benjamin Mirus, a researcher at the Geological Hazards Science Center (GHSC), detailed in statements to Europa Press that Guo’s conclusions “are similar” to those obtained so far by the USGS, which has determined that the “glacier collapse” took place in Langtang National Park, Nepal, near the common border.
“Our team of scientists is still evaluating the data to specify the details. Based on the seismic signal and past events, we estimate that the volume of displaced material was on the order of a hundred or potentially hundreds of cubic meters,” explained Mirus, who added that “debris avalanches have the potential to travel at tens or more than a hundred kilometers per hour.”
In this regard, the USGS highlighted on its website that “this mudslide and flood traveled nearly one hundred kilometers and affected populated areas downstream of the Trishuli and Bhotekoshi rivers, including the port of Gyirong, China,” destroying numerous buildings and infrastructure along the way, including “a vital road” connecting both countries.
Nepalese authorities raised the death toll from the floods to nearly 540 on Friday, an event that also leaves hundreds missing. These figures add at least five dead and around 550 missing in Chinese territory, as reported by the Asian giant’s authorities, as well as three bodies recovered in India.
Read more Between fishing and the euro, Iceland votes on whether to resume negotiations to join the EU
