Nepal flood study warns nearly 300,000 at risk

A new study has warned that nearly 300,000 people face potential flood risk downstream of Himalayan lakes in Nepal and neighbouring areas, after catastrophic August floods killed more than 1,400 people and left 5,000 missing.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, examined areas up to 50 kilometres downstream of 1,361 Himalayan lakes in Nepal and neighbouring parts of China and India.

It estimated that 293,000 people live less than 50 metres above usual water flows, putting them potentially within reach of floodwaters. The study also found that the area covered by buildings in potential flood zones increased by nearly 46 percent between 2016 and 2023.

A wall of water and debris triggered by a glacial and rock collapse on the Nepal-China border on August 26 cut a path of destruction across Nepal. Scientists say climate change played a key role in the August floods.

C. Scott Watson of Britain's University of Leeds, a key scientist in the study, said exposure in Himalayan catchments was increasing rapidly.

“Hazards are increasing as glaciers retreat, glacial lakes form and mountain permafrost thaws,” Watson said.

Nepal estimates reconstruction from the August floods will cost $4.78 billion. Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the United Nations last month that the flooding “was a warning to the world” about the rising dangers of climate change.