More than 900 people are missing, and at least 400 have died in Nepal so far.
What caused this Himalayan tsunami? Was it an earthquake or a glacier collapse? Palki Sharma tells you.
Maa Gambhiri, coordinator of Isha Sacred Walks, gives the first account of a group caught in the devastating Nepal flash flood near the border. She says 77 members of their group were at the immigration centre on the Chinese side, preparing to leave Tibet for Kathmandu, when the flood struck. The group includes pilgrims from 19 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Lithuania and Germany. Gambhiri says they have not been able to establish contact with the 77 members or three volunteers on the Nepal side, and are awaiting official confirmation while reaching out to embassies and authorities. She says Sadhguru is safe with the larger group and that teams are providing support and updates to the families of those missing.
Nepal Floods to China’s Great Bend Dam: India’s Water Security Lessons Explained
Nepal’s devastating flash floods have once again exposed the raw vulnerability of the Himalayas. In Firstpost Spotlight, Daniela Laurel explains that while the disaster was caused by a glacial collapse, it has also drawn attention to another major development in the same fragile mountain system: China’s $167 billion Great Bend hydropower project on the Brahmaputra in Tibet. With China controlling the river’s upper reaches and India downstream, the project has raised concerns over water security, flood risks, seismic safety, transparency and strategic leverage. How much control will Beijing gain over the Brahmaputra? Could the dam be used for strategic flooding? And how is India responding? From the Nepal disaster to India’s proposed Siang project, Daniela Laurel explains the growing infrastructure and water-security contest along the Brahmaputra.
