Kiwi scientists trying to fathom why Nepal flash floods generated so much water
Scientists are investigating the cause of massive flash floods on the Nepal-China border that resulted in hundreds of deaths and missing persons. Experts suggest that climate-induced instability in mountainous regions is increasing the frequency of such debris flows.
Why it matters
Understanding the link between climate change and geological disasters is critical for disaster mitigation and public safety in mountainous regions.
This week devastating flash flooding hit the Nepal-China border, leaving at least 600 people dead and around 2500 more missing, including five New Zealanders .
This year alone we've already recorded a number of tragic disasters across the planet caused by heatwaves, cyclones, floods and droughts. Some of them could be linked to increasingly turbulent weather patterns as the climate changes.
But how do we make sense of the link between seismic activity, ocean currents and rising temperatures?
Earth Sciences New Zealand principal scientist Graham Leonard said while details were still emerging about the disaster in Nepal, a large volume of rock and ice broke away from an area more than 600 metres wide high up in the mountains in the headwaters near the Nepal border with China in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
It collapsed suddenly and the material fell rapidly about 2km.
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