00:00A massive flood occurred in Nepal and as of August 27th at least, 168 people have died and at least
00:061,384 are missing.
00:08The unprecedented flood has caused thousands of casualties.
00:12Currently, about 600 of the missing are foreigners.
00:14The missing foreigners are known to be from 28 countries including India, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
00:20And Korea is also included.
00:21Nine Koreans from Korea Southeast Power and Doosan Enability who were building a hydroelectric power plant in this area are
00:27also currently missing.
00:28The Korean government is making every effort to find the 9 missing Koreans.
00:33The number of missing people continues to increase.
00:35As of August 26th, the number of missing was counted at 484 but as of August 27th, the day this
00:40video was made, it has surged to 1,384.
00:43In just one day, the number increased by nearly 1,000.
00:46A spokesperson for the Nepal police, Kapil from Aminara, said that as the search resumes and more bodies are recovered,
00:52the number of deaths is expected to increase further.
00:53The problem is that because of the massive flooding, all kinds of infrastructure have been completely destroyed.
01:00And not only have roads and bridges been destroyed but with 1.5 meters of mud and debris piled up,
01:04it's also very difficult for rescue teams to reach the area.
01:07Mud has piled up from the accident site to areas hundreds of kilometers away, making movement difficult.
01:12Because of this, it took 22 hours after the accident for Chinese rescue teams to finally reach the site for
01:17the first time.
01:17They even had to clear the mud one layer at a time to get through.
01:21Nepal and China have deployed their military forces to continue the rescue operations.
01:25The Nepal National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority announced that 80 bridges and a total of 40 kilometers of
01:31roads have been destroyed by the flood.
01:32They also reported that 83 security personnel, including police and soldiers involved in the rescue operations, are missing.
01:38The problem is that the flood occurred even though not a single drop of rain fell.
01:41The Nepalese government explained that the flood was caused by a glacier collapse triggered by an earthquake in Tibet.
01:47Sisir Kanal, Nepal's Minister of Foreign Affairs, explained in parliament that an earthquake occurred at around 8.37am and a
01:53flash flood was reported three minutes later.
01:55He said that a massive landslide blocked the flow of the local Botakoshi River.
01:58He further explained that debris and rocks from the landslide blocked the Botakoshi River.
02:02And when the blockage suddenly broke, muddy water rushed powerfully downstream.
02:07However, the United States Geological Survey explained that after further analysis of long-period seismic waves and satellite images,
02:14the seismic energy was actually caused by the landslide and that no earthquake occurred.
02:18They analyzed that the collapse of massive glaciers and rocks caused shock waves similar to an earthquake,
02:23and then the glacier collapse and debris flow swept downstream, resulting in a major flood.
02:28Currently, glaciers in the Himalayas are melting and disappearing due to global warming.
02:32But the problem is that this is forming large lakes.
02:35In particular, the thickness of glaciers in this region decreased by an average of 34cm per year before 2000,
02:41but since 2000, it has been shrinking more than twice as fast at 73cm per year.
02:45All of this is turning into water.
02:47If it flows normally, it can become a river.
02:49As water kept gathering in one place, a lake was formed.
02:52And if a rock wall that was holding the lake couldn't withstand the weight of the water and collapsed,
02:57a huge amount of water would pour out all at once.
02:59Right now, there are 55 glacier lakes upstream from the accident site,
03:02and the total area of these glacier lakes reaches 3.39 square kilometers.
03:06The problem is that in this situation, flood warnings based on rainfall amounts won't go off,
03:10so residents downstream won't have any time to evacuate.
03:13International aid is also continuing to reach the affected areas.
03:17The United Nations says it is mobilizing supplies and personnel through local organizations and relief agencies.
03:22India, which shares a border with southern Nepal, has also sent medicines, food, temporary shelter supplies,
03:26and rescue equipment to Nepal using military transport planes.
03:29Due to this major flood in Nepal,
03:30Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah's ability to respond to the crisis is also drawing attention.
03:34The current Prime Minister of Nepal, Balendra Shah, is a former rapper.
03:37Last year, a revolution took place in Nepal,
03:39leading to the collapse of the communist regime and the establishment of a new government.
03:43In particular, this disaster occurred just five months after Prime Minister Shah took office.
03:47Since a large-scale natural disaster occurred while the new government was establishing its administrative system
03:51and implementing major policies, how quickly the government can respond to rescue and relief efforts has become an important test.
03:58Prime Minister Shah delivered a message to the public via Facebook immediately after the flood occurred,
04:02expressing his view that the government would take responsibility for rescuing and treating the victims,
04:05as well as providing food and housing support.
04:07He also asked citizens who do not live in the affected areas to participate in relief activities,
04:11emphasizing that the entire nation is taking part in disaster response.
04:14This is a measure to directly convey to the public the government's determination to respond to the disaster
04:18and to reduce the anxiety of residents in the affected areas.
04:21Another important reason why this disaster response is significant for Prime Minister Shah
04:24is because of Nepal's geographical characteristics.
04:27Most of the affected areas are located in rugged or Himalayan mountainous regions,
04:30making it difficult for the central government to assess the situation on the ground and deploy rescue personnel.
04:34When roads and bridges are destroyed, access routes to the affected areas become limited,
04:38and in regions where communication is cut off, it can take time to confirm the status of missing people.
04:42Therefore, how quickly the Prime Minister's office and the central government can gather information from the field
04:46and coordinate the Nepalese military, police, local governments, and rescue agencies into a unified system
04:51has become an important challenge.
04:52Prime Minister Shah is also requesting cooperation from neighboring countries such as China and India.
04:56This disaster is not just a problem that occurred within Nepal,
04:59but also caused damage simultaneously in the border areas connected to the Tibet region of China,
05:03so it is necessary to share information and cooperate on rescue capabilities with neighboring countries.
05:07China also suffered significant damage in its own territory and has launched active rescue operations.
05:11China dispatched a rescue team of 111 people to the site using all available resources
05:15and sent equipment and supplies needed for search and rescue.
05:18President Xi Jinping also issued emergency instructions after the accident,
05:21ordering that the search and rescue of missing persons, evacuation of displaced people,
05:24and treatment of the injured should be prioritized, and that casualties should be minimized as much as possible.
05:28He especially emphasized the need to strengthen monitoring and early warning systems
05:31and to conduct rescue operations in a scientific manner to prevent any additional disasters from occurring.
05:36This means that not only the ongoing rescue operations, but also the possibility of additional floods and landslides
05:40that should be taken into account in the response.
05:42For Prime Minister Shah, this disaster could serve as an important opportunity to demonstrate the Nepalese government's
05:46actual crisis response capabilities.
05:48Although a new government took office after last year's political changes,
05:50the standard by which the people evaluate the government is likely to be not political slogans,
05:54but how quickly it acts in actual disaster situations.
05:57In particular, how quickly necessary supplies and medical support are delivered to affected residents,
06:01how efficiently the search for missing persons is conducted,
06:04and how smoothly cooperation with neighboring countries such as China and India is achieved
06:07will likely be key factors in evaluating Prime Minister Shah's leadership in the future.
06:10However, what the Nepalese authorities are most concerned about right now
06:13is not just the floods that have already passed.
06:15Because there is still ice, rocks, and sediment remaining upstream,
06:18there is a possibility of additional floods occurring.
06:20It has been reported that some debris from the collapse during the flood
06:23still remains in certain areas upstream of the Lander River.
06:26If this debris blocks the flow of the river again, water could accumulate upstream once more.
06:30And as this temporary dam that has formed collapses due to additional impact or heavy rain,
06:33a large amount of water and debris could rush downstream again.
06:36The problem this time is that the region's response infrastructure
06:38has already been severely damaged by the first flood.
06:41With roads and bridges destroyed,
06:43it takes residents more time to evacuate dangerous areas,
06:46and rescue teams also have a harder time reaching the scene.
06:49In areas where even communication facilities have been damaged,
06:52it can take longer just to figure out what's happening upstream.
06:54Even for rescue teams, they have to search for missing people
06:57while constantly checking the water level and debris upstream,
07:00so the search operations can become even more complicated.
07:02Above all, if another flood occurs while search operations are still underway,
07:06it could truly lead to a major disaster.
07:08Even the rescue teams could be swept away.
07:11If additional rain falls on top of this, the danger could increase even more.
07:14If it rains again on soil that's already soaked with water and unstable mountain slopes,
07:18additional landslides could occur.
07:21Especially in mountainous areas,
07:22even small-scale landslides can block the flow of rivers and create new temporary dams.
07:26If these dams suddenly collapse,
07:28flash floods could once again reach the already affected areas.
07:30The bigger problem is that residents may think the danger is over after experiencing the first flood.
07:35Additional collapses that occur upstream are difficult for downstream residents to detect directly,
07:39so there is a possibility that danger could strike suddenly.
07:41That's why the Nepalese authorities are carrying out rescue operations
07:44while continuously monitoring the river levels and debris movement in the upstream areas,
07:48and they need to guide residents to higher ground.
07:50The most important thing in this disaster is to recover from the damage caused by the first flood,
07:55while also preventing a second disaster.
07:57If additional floods occur in areas that have already been affected,
08:00the existing rescue personnel and equipment could be put at risk,
08:03and there could be major disruptions in the search for missing people.
08:06Therefore, over the next few days, how stable the upstream debris remains,
08:09whether there is additional rainfall,
08:11and whether the river level rises again will be important factors in determining the scale of damage in Nepal.
08:15And there's another important point to note about this accident.
08:18It's not a type of accident that can only happen in Nepal.
08:21The Himalayas are not only in Nepal, but also border several countries such as China's Tibet,
08:26India, Bhutan, and Pakistan, and there are numerous glaciers and glacial lakes.
08:29If rising temperatures continue to destabilize glaciers and even change the geological environment of mountainous regions,
08:34there is a possibility that similar types of flash floods and landslides could occur in other areas as well.
08:39This disaster in Nepal could serve as a warning that the entire Himalayas need to prepare for a new type
08:44of disaster in mountainous regions.
