Nepal floods highlight growing glacier risks in warming Himalayas
- At least 168 people were killed and more than 1,300 were missing after catastrophic floods and mudslides in Nepal.
- The floods were likely caused by a glacier collapse that temporarily dammed a river, leading to a surge of water downstream.
- Scientists are investigating the event using satellite and ground-level data to understand the cause of the flood.
The deadly flash flood in Nepal was likely caused by a huge chunk of a glacier that broke off and temporarily dammed a river, according to preliminary investigations by scientists. This led to the backed-up water surging downstream with enormous force a few hours later.
Scientists are still piecing together information from satellite and ground-level data to figure out exactly what happened to cause the flood, which killed at least 353 people and left more than 1,300 missing, including foreigners and pilgrims.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude 5.2 glacier collapse that sent debris flowing downstream with catastrophic impact on communities. They determined this based on data from nearby seismic stations, long period seismic waves, and satellite imagery.
尼泊尔洪水凸显气候变暖下冰川风险的加剧
尼泊尔的致命洪水可能是由于一大块冰川崩塌，暂时堵塞了河流，导致几小时后水流猛增，科学家的初步调查显示。
科学家们仍在利用卫星和地面数据拼凑信息，以确定导致洪水的确切原因，这场洪水造成至少353人遇难，1300多人失踪，包括外国人和朝圣者。
美国地质调查局报告称，发生了一次5.2级的冰川崩塌，导致泥石流对社区造成了灾难性影响。他们的判断基于附近地震站的数据、长期地震波和卫星影像。