A giant avalanche of ice, rocks, mud and water descended at high speed for more than 170 kilometers through the Bhote Koshi river valley in Nepal, causing a devastating flood that razed houses, roads, bridges and infrastructure. The phenomenon, described as a "land tsunami," caught the local populations by surprise, who practically had no time to react.
The tragedy occurred on Wednesday, August 26, and initial analyses point to the collapse of a glacier as the cause of the disaster, in a context of growing instability in the Himalayan mountains. The phenomenon highlights the increasing vulnerability of the Himalayan region, where climate change has been destabilizing glaciers.
The Nepalese Government reported that 175 bodies had already been recovered, with hundreds of people still missing. Search and rescue operations continued in the field as teams tried to locate more survivors among the rubble left by the flood.
