- 6 weeks ago
A devastating flash flood disaster in Nepal has pushed the death toll near 600, leaving hundreds missing and over 300 Indian nationals uncontactable.
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00:00Good evening, this is NewsTrack and I'm Maria Shaquille.
00:02Nepal's nightmare is far from over.
00:05The death toll from the catastrophic flash floods is nearing 600.
00:10Hundreds remain missing, even as a desperate search for survivors continues
00:15and authorities warn that the danger is far from over.
00:18A fresh flood warning has been issued after water levels rose again in the Bhote Koshi region.
00:26India has stepped up humanitarian effort.
00:30A third flight carrying relief material along with doctors, paramedics
00:35and teams for tunnel rescue operations have left and reached now perhaps Kathmandu.
00:4321 Indian tourists are rescued from Nepal, returned to New Delhi today
00:48where External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jai Shankar personally welcomed them.
00:51The MEA says more than 300 Indian nationals remain uncontactable.
00:58Here's a report on the families waiting, hoping and appealing for their loved one's return.
01:23Across India, families are living through the same agonising weight.
01:27A phone that does not ring, a loved one who cannot be reached and no answers from Nepal.
01:38Priyanka Chaudhuri, a resident of Haryana's Haasee and working as a doctor in Finland,
01:43was travelling with a group as part of the Kailash Mansurovar Yatra.
01:48She was scheduled to return to India on the 26th, but contact was lost before the floods struck.
01:56Her family has now appealed to the government to coordinate with Nepal's authorities and help trace her.
02:12Shubha Shri Chakraborty Hoohes from Kolkata had travelled towards the Nepal-China border
02:17as part of a Kailash Mansurovar pilgrims group.
02:21She last spoke to her husband after completing immigration formalities.
02:30Shubha Shri Chakraborty Hoohes.
02:37process. Now China's immigration process was left. After that, there was no connection
02:45between them. There was no contact with them. There was no contact with them. There was
02:51no contact with them. There was no contact with them.
02:54Samar Mondol, a resident of Shantinagar Bobazar in Shiliguri, had left for Mount Kailash on
03:00August 16. His last conversation was on Tuesday, when he told his family he was unwell and
03:07planned to return to Kathmandu. Since then, his form has been unreachable.
03:12We were left for Kailashatra. After that, we were contacted. There was a video call.
03:20We were told that it was not good. It was bombing. Then the agents told us to leave it to
03:30Kathmandu.
03:31Because there was no contact with me, we got a lot of attention.
03:36An NRI couple from Gujarat, Vimal and Jamina Patel remained missing after travelling to Nepal.
03:43Their last contact with the family came days ago. Since then, their phones have been switched off.
04:09From Surat, three Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims have been untraceable for around 24 hours.
04:40In Trishuli, Usha Chaurasiya and Hassan Rahul, originally from Baliya, have been sent to
04:45the disaster. The floodwaters may be receding, but for these families, the nightmare is far from over.
05:12As rescue teams continue the search in Nepal, every passing hour deepens the anxiety.
05:19And every survivor found brings a flicker of hope for those still waiting back home.
05:25Bera Report, India Today.
05:29And joining us now are Praveen and Mamata Mittal. They are family members of Missing Dr. Meena Gupta,
05:37a British citizen of Indian origin who had travelled to Kailash Mansarovar on August 14th,
05:43along with 77 members of the Isha Foundation.
05:48I want to know, Mamata, when was your last time talking about Meena Gupta Ji?
05:56Meena Gupta Ji was talking about Sunday.
05:59We were talking about three photos.
06:03We were talking about Sunday.
06:05We were talking about Monday and Sunday.
06:07We were talking about Sunday.
06:09We were talking about Saturday.
06:10We were talking about Saturday, and they were talking about Sunday,
06:11but we are talking about Sunday.
06:11Yahatcha, my doctor, you have compartments.
06:16Ha ha, na ta berci.
06:27Yaakata, I have you.
06:28I think that's the question of the two.
06:29There is a report that you have,
06:33what is there in the state of the state.
06:36In the same way,
06:38because you have told that the whole group was 77 people.
06:43There were 77 members.
06:44So, you have, Meena Gupta Ji,
06:47you have tried to talk to other members?
06:50Did you try to contact them?
06:53There were no members.
06:54We have no knowledge.
06:56When the TV came,
06:59we had a knowledge that in the 78 members,
07:02there was also a Meena.
07:03When the flash flood came,
07:07there was also a 78 members in the Immigration Center.
07:12This was a knowledge.
07:13We were always looking for knowledge.
07:17We are not looking for knowledge.
07:19In the missing list, Meena Gupta Ji's name is RR.
07:25Is there anyone other people?
07:27Who is your friends?
07:29These are the same people.
07:36They are not looking for knowledge.
07:37They are talking about these.
07:39Many people are very vulnerable.
07:41And they are very, are crying.
08:10Actually, in the past year, his husband
08:12came to love him and went to love him.
08:16Then he went to love him and went to him.
08:19He said he had to go to father's side,
08:22but he did not go to God.
08:25He did not go to him.
08:28Then he went to love him.
08:31He was also together with other two.
08:42So, you know what happened in Nepal?
08:50Yes, I am asking if your parents know that they are missing in Nepal?
09:01Yes, I am asking if your parents know that they are missing.
09:02All of them are missing.
09:04All of them are missing.
09:08All of them are missing.
09:19All of them are missing.
09:53All of them are missing.
09:54All of them are missing.
10:23All of them are missing.
10:23All of them are missing.
10:35All of them are missing.
10:38All of them are missing.
10:58All of them are missing.
11:00All of them are missing.
11:25All of them are missing.
11:46All of them are missing.
11:51All of them are missing missing.
11:52All of them are missing missing missing.
12:20received information about the rising water level from the Chinese side at around 9 p.m.
12:25And following the fresh surge, Nepal's government has issued an alert.
12:29People living along the Trishuli River corridor from Rasuwa all the way to Mughaling
12:34have been asked to remain on high alert and move to safer locations until further notice.
12:40All precautions being taken now after the flash floods two days ago.
12:45Now, cautious approach is being, you know, applied by the government.
12:51There is an information sharing also which is happening between Nepal and China now.
12:57Another piece of breaking news which is coming in, and this is with regards to the Nepal government,
13:02the Nepal government appears to have changed its stand on external resistance for external assistance
13:09for rescue and relief operations.
13:12And sources say Nepal is now likely to allow foreign rescue agencies to join the ongoing rescue relief
13:19and restoration efforts.
13:20This comes after Nepal had initially said that foreign search and rescue teams were not required,
13:26maintaining that its own security agencies were capable of handling the operation.
13:31India had, remember, offered specialized assistance, including NDRF teams and equipment.
13:37Now, Nepal saying that all the teams who can help them, foreign rescue agencies which can help Nepal
13:48in its ongoing rescue relief and restoration efforts are all welcomed to the country
13:53as it deals with the aftermath of this huge catastrophe.
13:59Joining me now is Dr. Madhav Karki, who until recently served as the chief advisor for climate change
14:07to the minister there in Nepal.
14:10He has also served as the environment and climate change advisor to several former prime ministers
14:17in Nepal as well.
14:22Dr., you know, certainly the concern here is what's going to happen now.
14:27Eight hours ago, Nepal police issued another alert.
14:33A second reservoir has burst on the Tibet side and rescuers already working the first disaster
14:40were told to immediately move to safety.
14:42How is Nepal getting real-time warning of these upstream bursts?
14:47And is it enough time to actually save lives downstream?
14:57Yes, thank you for having me.
15:00About the second alert, the latest situation is that the red level is now no more there.
15:102.5 million cubic meter of water was there in the lake, in the newly formed lake, but it is
15:19overflowing, means it's overtopping, that means the water is gradually going out, so the level
15:28has also decreased.
15:30So in the Nepal side, they were monitoring the water level, the front level, it was only 0.6
15:37meter. So right now, the risk, I would say the alert is not red, it is manageable.
15:48And then second, on the monitoring side, it is, I'm happy to say that both Nepalese and Chinese
15:56scientists and Ishimode, they are working together and the regular update on the level of water,
16:08on the chances of breaching and the downstream flooding are being shared with Nepal.
16:16So I think the information sharing is better than in the first, the catastrophic disaster
16:26that happened. And the rescue team, I would say, are working really over time. And there was
16:34complaint that the number of personnel were not adequate. And so they have added one another 1000,
16:41so it's almost approaching about 19,000 security people, persons, and also very happy to say that
16:50the government of India is also sending technical assessment teams. So, so I would say it's,
16:57the disaster was massive, and it was really a moment, I would say a humanitarian crisis,
17:06but it is gradually, thanks to the government's efforts, it is gradually being handled, I would say,
17:15promptly and I would say professionally.
17:18Dr. Karki, Nepal has now lost more people to glacial and flood disasters in the last decade
17:25than in any period before. Is Nepal's disaster infrastructure built for the occasional catastrophe,
17:32or has your government structurally accepted that this is an annual monsoon threat?
17:44Dr. Karki, Nepal has so far experienced 27 globs, the greatest glacier lake outburst floods,
17:52and 47 are classified as dangerous lakes. So we have to factor in climate change, climate change is warming the
18:04mountain.
18:05And the warming is happening and warming at the high altitude is higher than the global average. So
18:12that means when the warming happens, then of course, the glacier and metals and the rock,
18:19rock bed on with the glacier is setting, that also melt. So because the rock is mixed with the dead
18:25ice,
18:26permafrost. So for Nepal, this is a very serious, I would say hazard and risk. But
18:34for the entire, I would say, Himalayan countries, this situation is prevailing because the warming is
18:43happening across the border, across, I would say, the countries. So for Nepal, of course, the capacity
18:51is low. But I would say this is where in the regional cooperation, cross-border cooperation, cross-border
18:59information sharing has to happen. But more importantly, learning from this, I would say really
19:06tragic humanitarian crisis, the traditional monitoring system, where it only river water level
19:14were measured and alerts were generated, is no more valid. Now, I think we need to have a cryosphere.
19:23Cryosphere means the high altitude, the ice and the snow surface, and the hazards are created there.
19:32The mountain warms, and then the ice melts, and the whole section of the mountain falls down. This is
19:40what happened. It fell down 3,000, 2,000 meters below, creating, I think, almost 5.5
19:50seismic signals. So that's why this was a huge force. So this phenomena creates a catastrophic,
19:59what we call the debris mixed flood, which is very, very dangerous. And we have seen last year in
20:07Raleigh, similar thing happened at a smaller scale. So I think for Nepal, of course, capacity have to be
20:14raised. But I think we are happy to say that between Nepal and China and between
20:20Nepal and India, and it would be ideally three countries could have a cryosphere hazard monitoring
20:28center rather than just a glacier melting monitoring center. The glacier melting alone is not an issue.
20:37It's just generating more lakes, and they are at the risk of bridging. But what we need is,
20:45there are ruptures which are happening, and then the mountain is unstable, and any time it will fall
20:52down, it will block the river, and the river, because of the Moran Dam is weak, it will bridge. So
20:58this is
20:58the risk, new risk, new normal, I would say, which we have to handle.
21:02Dr. Madhav Karki, Kathmandu and other river valleys keep rebuilding in the same flood corridors
21:09after every disaster. At what point does Nepal actually admit that this is no longer a planning
21:16failure, but a decision to keep people living in harm's way? I'm asking this question to you because
21:22you have advised two governments on climate policy and disaster preparedness.
21:30Yes, this is a very important question. So I think for policymakers, it is a very important
21:38opportunity also to really retune their thinking. Now we have to do things differently than in the past.
21:49And this means that we have to keep, we cannot prevent a catastrophic flood, but we can prevent people
21:58living on the path of the catastrophic flood. So this is this is a statement I make. So that means
22:04that
22:04while people were living quite close to the river banks, of course, understandably for water and for
22:12their livelihood, now we have to find new ways that how people can be settled upstream
22:24at new locations so that they are not on the path of this type of flood. This means that hydropower,
22:34like all the infrastructure, they have to factor in, I would say to 20 times, I would say 10 percent,
22:4310 times, 20 times more river discharge increase or the flood risk level, hazard threshold level increase
22:57and build infrastructure in such a way that this type of disaster will not damage them, which has
23:06happened now. I would say mantra is build resilient infrastructure, resilient communities, resilient,
23:14I would say also ecosystem or resilient landscape so that human beings, they can live with flood rather
23:25than I would say get really affected like this time. Dr. Karki, really appreciate your time. Thank you
23:32for joining us and sharing your perspective. So what is the situation like on the ground after the
23:39devastating flash flood? India today's Ashutosh Mishrai is in Nepal and he has been bringing
23:44these ground reports. I'm leaving you with this. Thanks so much for watching.
23:51The biggest concern for Nepal was that how early warning system that was supposed to be used by China
23:57was in Jews and Nepal was not informed. How the glacier lake these GLFOF literally found
24:02so I see right behind me, just behind those thick layer of cloud, those are the peaks, those are the
24:08glaciers and that's exactly what the China-Nepal border is. That's the Ruswad stick and exactly on
24:13the plateau between those glacial points, peak of those snow peak mountains, that's where the lake
24:18formations are. So many of these peak points between China and Nepal, there is a glacier formation,
24:23there is a lake formation and early warning system is often used by including by the Chinese
24:28satellites who often keep a tab since it's a very sensitive area, ecologically very fragile. And
24:34despite of having, you know, a high potential satellite, the China could not see what is
24:40unfolding in that. And because of it is Chinese approach that they did not see what is unfolding,
24:46they did not even inform Nepal. So the glacial outburst take took place or even it was a rock avalanche.
24:51It eventually started bringing the huge amount of debris and water downstream and that triggered
24:57massive scale of devastation for Nepal. Nepal is now on a risk of another severe calamity after China
25:04alerts Nepal for another glacier lake formation in the confluence major two rivers where till 27th of
25:13morning nearly two million cubic water has been collected and another three days it is likely to
25:20reach up to five million cubic and in that case even the these lakes would breach the barrier and in
25:26that case you will see all these river terrain of Nepal would be flooding with the severe debris and
25:32again potentially harm and decimate all the residential area. That's a massive risk that has been alerted by
25:39China to the Nepalese authority Nepal has warned the people living near the embankment sites.
25:45People have been evacuated already safety majors in place and warning has been issued.
25:49There is also some hope that the people living near the camp arrived and they have been
26:06in the hospital.
26:06There is no store excuse.
26:11The virus is in the hospital but there is no need to be.
26:13The virus is still there and there is no need to be.
26:14A virus has run into them.
26:15This virus is now around the hospital.
26:16While the virus is on the before line,
26:19This is the most difficult way to protect the people from the people.
26:24So, when the people are living in the land of the city,
26:27they come to their own lives.