Nepal seeks climate action and grant aid after catastrophic glacier flood

Nepal is seeking international support after an Aug. 26 glacier and bedrock collapse triggered a catastrophic flash flood in the Trishuli River valley, where about 1,400 bodies had been recovered and more than 5,000 people remained unaccounted for.

NPR reported that a mass of glacier and rock more than 3,800 feet wide fell about 4,000 feet into the valley, unleashing waves of boulders, water and ice as high as 30 feet. The flood swept away about 70 bridges, miles of highway and a multistory border building, while 12 hydropower plants were buried under mud and debris.

About 1,400 bodies had been recovered and more than 5,000 people remained unaccounted for, according to NPR. Brig. Gen. Subas Jung Thapa said 121 of the dead and missing had been trapped at hydropower plants. Only three men had been found alive at the plants, and five bodies were later recovered from the buried Upper Trishuli-1 project, the Kathmandu Post reported.

The disaster has renewed scrutiny of hydropower construction in the Himalayas and whether developers adequately assessed geological hazards. Upper Trishuli-1, a project costing Nepal more than $500 million and supported by about $300 million from two World Bank arms, was still under construction when it was buried.

Prime Minister Balen Shah called the flood a warning about climate change, urged a climate agreement with neighboring India and China, and said Nepal wants grants rather than loans to finance recovery, according to reports by the Guardian, Bloomberg and Reuters.