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ClimateQuiet 9d · day 9

Nepal's floods expose how development in hazard zones turns water into disaster

Climate change melts glaciers, but poor planning, deforestation, and riverbed mining made the 1,386 deaths preventable.

newest coverage 8d agosummary written 4d ago3 pieces NewswiresMastodonGoogle News

What to know

  • A glacier-fed flood in Nepal and Tibet killed 1,386 people on August 26, destroying entire towns and leaving 5,000 unaccounted for.
  • While climate change is melting Himalayan glaciers faster, the disaster's severity stems largely from human choices: unplanned development, deforestation, riverbed mining, and infrastructure that disrupted natural water drainage.
  • Nepal ranks sixth globally for climate vulnerability; the region has seen deadly glacial floods regularly since 2021, but the exact role of human-caused climate change in this event has not yet been determined by scientists.

“Unregulated industries, including riverbed mining and the dumping of excavated soil into rivers, had raised riverbeds and made the river channels more prone to flooding.”

Keshab Kumar Sharma, Former secretary of Nepal's infrastructure ministry · Time Magazine ↗ · Sep 14

Keshab Kumar Sharma Former secretary of Nepal's infrastructure ministryWorld Weather Attribution (WWA) International climate science group

Nepal's floods expose how development in hazard zones turns water into disaster
Time

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 3 pieces in two hours at Sep 15, 5 AM; 3 pieces over 9 days (2 articles · 1 post) Sep 15, 5 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 post — Google News 1, Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Sep 15, 7 AM — quietSep 15, 9 AM — quietSep 15, 11 AM — quietSep 15, 1 PM — quietSep 15, 3 PM — quietSep 15, 5 PM — quietSep 15, 7 PM — quietSep 15, 9 PM — quietSep 15, 11 PM — quietSep 16, 1 AM — quietSep 16, 3 AM — quietSep 16, 5 AM — quietSep 16, 7 AM — quietSep 16, 9 AM — quietSep 16, 11 AM — quietSep 16, 1 PM — quietSep 16, 3 PM — quietSep 16, 5 PM — quietSep 16, 7 PM — quietSep 16, 9 PM — quietSep 16, 11 PM — quietSep 17, 1 AM — quietSep 17, 3 AM — quietSep 17, 5 AM — quietSep 17, 7 AM — quietSep 17, 9 AM — quietSep 17, 11 AM — quietSep 17, 1 PM — quietSep 17, 3 PM — quietSep 17, 5 PM — quietSep 17, 7 PM — quietSep 17, 9 PM — quietSep 17, 11 PM — quietSep 18, 1 AM — quietSep 18, 3 AM — quietSep 18, 5 AM — quietSep 18, 7 AM — quietSep 18, 9 AM — quietSep 18, 11 AM — quietSep 18, 1 PM — quietSep 18, 3 PM — quietSep 18, 5 PM — quietSep 18, 7 PM — quietSep 18, 9 PM — quietSep 18, 11 PM — quietSep 19, 1 AM — quietSep 19, 3 AM — quietSep 19, 5 AM — quietSep 19, 7 AM — quietSep 19, 9 AM — quietSep 19, 11 AM — quietSep 19, 1 PM — quietSep 19, 3 PM — quietSep 19, 5 PM — quietSep 19, 7 PM — quietSep 19, 9 PM — quietSep 19, 11 PM — quietSep 20, 1 AM — quietSep 20, 3 AM — quietSep 20, 5 AM — quietSep 20, 7 AM — quietSep 20, 9 AM — quietSep 20, 11 AM — quietSep 20, 1 PM — quietSep 20, 3 PM — quietSep 20, 5 PM — quietSep 20, 7 PM — quietSep 20, 9 PM — quietSep 20, 11 PM — quietSep 21, 1 AM — quietSep 21, 3 AM — quietSep 21, 5 AM — quietSep 21, 7 AM — quietSep 21, 9 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 3 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 9 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quiet 1
Sep 16Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22now · 3:44 AM ET
  1. 1

    Expert analysisDisaster driven by climate and development choices

    Time Magazine publishes analysis arguing that while Himalayan glacier melt contributed to the flood, the scale of devastation reflects preventable human factors including unplanned urbanization, deforestation, riverbed mining that raised riverbeds, and infrastructure that disrupted natural water drainage.

    “there is no such thing as a 'natural' disaster. A natural hazard becomes a disaster only when people are placed in its path.”
    — Dan Haines
  2. background

    Glacial flood strikes Nepal and Tibet — A major flood originating from glacial melt sweeps through Nepal and Tibet, killing 1,386 people and leaving around 5,000 unaccounted for. The event destroys bridges, hydropower projects, and entire towns.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets Nepal Cannot Stop the Floods. It Can Stop Them From Becoming Disasters.

    first by Time Magazine, 8d ago · also Time