Rescue teams have resumed operations in the Nepal-Tibet border region devastated by flash floods, after a brief pause triggered by concerns over a possible second glacial outburst.
According to Nepal's disaster management authority, the death toll from the disaster has risen to at least 579, with 1,924 people still missing. Meanwhile, Chinese officials report at least five deaths in Tibet, with 558 people unaccounted for.
The disaster began on Wednesday morning when a portion of a glacier at about 5,200 meters in the Himalayas collapsed, plunging about 1,200 meters and carrying rocks and debris before crashing into the Lende River. The resulting flash flood surged southward through Nepal's Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading districts, raising the Trishuli River's water level by nine meters in just 30 minutes. The U.S. Geological Survey revised its initial earthquake-based explanation, determining that the seismic signal actually came from the landslide itself.
A new lake has formed at the collapse site and began rising, forcing a halt to search operations due to the risk of a second flood. Activities have since resumed after the lake's threat was assessed as manageable.
Alton Byers, a glacier disaster scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, told Al Jazeera that the barrier holding the new lake is extremely unstable, made of loose rock debris with "not much holding it together." Byers suggested the safest outcome would be for the lake to drain gradually on its own, adding that Chinese teams could also attempt to lower the water level using manual tools—a technique already employed in other countries prone to glacial lake outburst floods.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited the disaster area in Gyirong on Thursday, while President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting urging officials to "scientifically formulate search and rescue plans" and enhance monitoring of glacial lakes, according to state media.
International aid has arrived from India, the United Nations, the Red Cross, Australia, South Korea, and the United States. Officials warn that the death toll may continue to rise as rescue teams reach areas still isolated by mud and washed-out roads.
