It was like doomsday in neighboring country Nepal on August 26 when catastrophic flash floods and mudslides were triggered by a massive glacier and rock collapse near Langtang Lirung in the Himalayan region. Flash floods led to the death of at least 734 with nearly 2,500 people still missing with massive destruction of houses, bridges and infrastructure. The US Geological Survey states that the disaster was caused by a “glacial collapse”— when a glacier or part of a glacier disintegrates. It is stated that the impact of the collapsed glacier hitting downstream was so powerful that it registered a magnitude of 5.2. The international Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), an intergovernmental scientific institution, revealed that there could have been an ice-rock avalanche originating from a high-altitude area. This is caused when a“large volume of ice and rock debris” entered the Lende Khola, a tributary of the Bhote Koshi river, which in turn generated a sudden surge in the river carrying water, sediment and large boulders downstream. The centre revealed that water levels in rivers downstream rose by between seven and nine metres within a span of 30 minutes, and several water monitoring stations were washed away or damaged.

What is concerning is that the Hindu Kush Himalayan glaciers have been retreating double the rate since 2000 exacerbating flash floods. This year Jammu and Kashmir witnessed increase in flash floods causing loss of over 30 lives and destruction of infrastructure. On July 2, 12 cloudbursts were reported in 12 hours when the southwest monsoon arrived in J&K. On July 7 we witnessed massive flash floods in Thathri town of Jammu’s Doda district.........

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