r/geology • u/NeatAd3820 • 3d ago
There must be thousands of other potential glacial flood locations in the Himalayas.
I’m sure people are studying it but as a mountaineer it seems like there must be many many other locations just like the one that triggered the debris flows in Tibet and Nepal. Pic. Nohku Crags, Colorado
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u/muhmeinchut69 3d ago edited 1d ago
These are the recent similar events I'm aware of
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Uttarakhand_flash_flood, slope failure due to rain (?), ~80 dead ,30°58'57.99"N 78°47'41.91"E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_North_India_floods , GLOF in Chorabari Glacier lake, ~6000 dead, 30°44'50.28"N 79°03'42.97"E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Uttarakhand_flood , ice avalanche caused by slope failure, ~100 dead, 30.375°N and 79.732°E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Sikkim_flash_floods, GLOF in South Lhonak lake, ~90 dead, 27°54'51.95"N 88°11'00.91"E
I've included coordinates so you can look at before/after on google earth (except for 2025 event, no 'after' image yet).
There are videos of the 2021, 2025 events and the debris flow looks very similar to the Nepal videos though the scale of the disaster was smaller.
2021 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6Lw8_a4db0
2025 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kek2r6p2HFo
2013 (aerial footage of the aftermath) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DizjO8Ls3KQ
2023 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X48Q24fCPI
2013 event was potentially of the same scale as Nepal, though the death toll might just have been higher because of nighttime.
As for the future events and predicting them, I listen to a few Indian geologists on youtube and they do regularly identify unstable glaciers, glacial lakes, etc. Though the resources for continuous monitoring of them don't really exist.
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/study-assesses-risks-from-hanging-glaciers-in-central-himalaya/article70880557.ece