Glacier-rock collapse poses flood threat beyond GLOFs

The useful part

The deadly August 26 flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border have drawn attention to a high-altitude hazard that can unleash destructive floods without a glacial lake. Development (ICIMOD) said satellite analysis showed a high-magnitude glacier-rock collapse, or ice-rock avalanche, entering Lende Khola, a tributary of the Bhote Koshi river, before turning into a debris flood. The event was initially linked to a possible Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF).

How it works

• However, the direct contribution of climate change remains uncertain," he said.
• Subsequent satellite analysis and expert assessments pointed to an ice-rock avalanche associated with glacier and bedrock failure.
• "The failure entrained large volumes of glacier ice, snow and loose debris.
• It rapidly moved downstream and transformed into a highly destructive debris flood," Mir said.
• "Recent and prolonged warming, snow and glacier-ice melt, and increased water infiltration into bedrock fractures could have further weakened the slope.

What to take from it

"These features now require identification and vulnerability assessment." Mir said Himachal Pradesh, the Chenab Valley in Jammu.

Details worth keeping

the sudden failure of glacier ice, rock and debris on an unstable slope. Experts Seek Geological Mapping of Unstable Slopes Riyaz Ahmad Mir, a scientist at the National Institute of Hydrology's Western Himalayan Regional Centre (WHRC) in Jammu, said the source area had warm permafrost and fractured bedrock. and Ladakh should be priorities for detailed geologic...