Search operations have been hampered at the scene of Nepal's massive flood as fears grow over secondary disasters from a glacial collapse.
On the 28th, according to a compilation of major foreign media including Reuters and AFP, Nepal police identified signs of an additional dam collapse on the side of China's Tibet Autonomous Region that day and issued an emergency evacuation order to rescue personnel on the ground. Police authorities warned, "All security officers and rescuers deployed for rescue and relief activities should not lower their guard and should evacuate immediately to a safe place." Immediately after the warning, rescue operations in Nepal, including helicopter rescues underway in Rasuwa district of Bagmati Province in northern Nepal, were completely suspended for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Experts say the risk of this second collapse stems from unstable glaciers and slope topography, which were cited as the cause of the earlier disaster. After a "glacial lake" formed on both sides of the border on the 26th when landslide debris dammed the river, water levels kept rising for three days, turning it into a ticking time bomb that could burst at any moment, they assessed. Chinese authorities predicted that as much as 3 million cubic meters of water would flow into the lake within three days. Local weather conditions have also worsened, with additional rain in the forecast, raising the risk of collapse.
Rasuwa, where the evacuation order was issued, is a key logistics hub abutting the Gyirong port of entry on the Chinese border. The area bore the brunt of damage from the massive flood the previous day, with multi-story buildings buried wholesale in mud and dozens of bridges severed. With road links destroyed, forcing crews to rely solely on helicopters, the suspension of searches has further dimmed the chances of survival for more than 1,200 missing people. Given the rugged mountainous terrain, rescues are virtually impossible after sunset, squandering even the limited time available.
Reuters reported that once the order to halt rescue work was issued, villagers fearful of landslide collapses were seen in many places rushing to take shelter on hills and other high ground. Rescue authorities are said to be weighing when to resume searches while using satellite imagery to monitor, in real time, changes in the water levels of the Tibet dam and the glacial lake.