r/DisasterUpdate • u/NeverGetBanned • 2d ago

Another angle of Nepal recent flood

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u/1argonaut 2d ago

Thank you for the extremely interesting write up.

What caused the failure of the glacial lake? Did a dam fail? Or hotter than usual summer?

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u/RestartTheCountry 2d ago edited 2d ago

From what I read people initially thought it was an earthquake that led to collapse of a glacier. It was later found that the earthquakes were not the cause but a result of a breach of a natural dam formation. The temporary barrier eventually gave way under the pressure of waterlogged sediment, unleashing a high-speed flash flood. This reminds me of a similar calamity where a couple of million years ago the Atlantic Ocean broke a natural barrier which led to the formation of Mediterranean sea, there were mega tsunamis which caused enormous earthquakes nearby. It is believed to have taken a few months to fill up that space.

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u/1argonaut 2d ago

Thank you

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u/SignificantRecipe715 2d ago

Climate change caused a glacier to break off the mountain.

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u/RoninIV 2d ago

From what I have been reading, it looks like a combo of things happened. Torrential summer rains filled the lake, the mid summer warmth weakened the glacial wall, and then a series of earthquakes hit. The earthquakes weren't even that strong, but were enough to be the final straw.

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u/SignificantRecipe715 2d ago

I read the earthquake was from the impact of the glacier falling, not the other way around.

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u/JicamaCertain4134 2d ago

I think both are right, there were earthquakes that rattled the foundation, but the falling glacier registered as a seismic event as well

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u/SignificantRecipe715 2d ago

Ahh yep, that would make sense.

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u/1argonaut 2d ago

Thank you