China warns of ‘major’ glacier collapse risk as landslide death toll nears 1,000 - South China Morning Post
Chinese authorities have issued warnings regarding further glacier collapses and landslides along the Nepal-Tibet border as the death toll from recent flooding nears 1,000. Rescue operations are being hampered by severe weather and difficult terrain.
Why it matters
The ongoing disaster poses a significant risk of secondary hazards, complicating international rescue efforts and highlighting the vulnerability of mountainous regions to climate-related events.
China warned on Monday there was a “major risk” of further glacier collapses and landslides along the border with Nepal as the death toll from last week’s deadly mudslide rose to close to 1,000.
The Ministry of Water Resources said there was an ongoing threat along the Cuojian River in Nepal, a waterway that flows into the Purepuqiang River in Tibet, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Downstream in Tibet there was also a risk that further landslides would cause a new barrier lake to form, the ministry added.
The death toll in Nepal has risen to 903, with 4,247 people still missing, according to data released by the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority on Monday.
Chinese authorities said on Sunday that the death toll on their side of the border had risen to 16, with 546 people still missing.
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