HOLLYWOOD is second to none in producing films of action, suspense and catastrophe. Through marvels of modern technology, filmmakers portray storms, earthquakes, floods and destruction with such astonishing realism that human mind is often left bewildered. The scenes appear so extraordinary that one is inclined to believe that they belong only to realm of imagination. Yet there are moments in history when reality surpasses fiction, and nature unveils a spectacle of devastation that no camera, no scriptwriter and no artificial intelligence can fully imitate.

The recent disaster in Nepal was one such event. When images and videos of the calamity spread across social media, many viewers around the world initially regarded them as scenes from a motion picture or perhaps product of digital manipulation. Torrents of muddy water rushing down mountain valleys, giant rocks tumbling with unimaginable force, and settlements disappearing beneath waves of destruction resembled a cinematic sequence. But this was no illusion; it was a painful reality that descended upon the people of Nepal with the suddenness of a divine warning.

The disaster occurred in the Himalayan region, where towering glaciers and glacial lakes form one of the largest reserves of freshwater outside Polar Regions. Nepal is home to more than three thousand glaciers and thousands of glacial lakes, many........

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