Debris flowing down a Himalayan valley. Towns and villages washed away. Thousands of people affected. Not the recent devastating catastrophe on the Nepal-Tibet border, but a similar disaster in the Indian eastern Himalayas in 2023.

That climate change-related disaster was triggered by a glacial lake outburst flood, or glof. It happened under the cover of darkness on the night of October 3. The resulting 270 million cm³ debris flood devastated the people and infrastructure of the Teesta river valley.

One of us, Rinchen, has been researching the impacts of and recovery from that 2023 disaster. During this research, focus-group participants in the state of Sikkim discussed the ongoing impacts of the flood on their surroundings and mental health. “The foundation of the hills [in the Teesta Valley] has been weakened,” one explained. “The rainy season has become extremely difficult – our whole area is sliding.”

Cascading hazards and entrenched political and economic inequalities have led to false starts in reconstruction and ongoing suffering, in lieu of meaningful recovery, since 2023.

Read more: As Bolivia’s glaciers melt, new lakes threaten mountain communities

A local environmental charity has warned how recurring road and bridge collapses........

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