00:03A devastating flash flood and mudslide along the Nepal-China border has triggered a fresh
00:10war of words between Kathmandu and Beijing. China's embassy in Kathmandu has strongly
00:18rejected allegations that it failed to provide Nepal with timely early warnings or that a dam
00:25or geological structure on the Chinese side triggered the disaster. The embassy has called
00:31the allegations fake news, misleading and untrue, insisting that the focus now must remain on rescue
00:39and relief rather than blame. The disaster struck on August 26, near the Rasawadi-Karun or Zhirong
00:48border area. A massive surge of ice, rocks, mud and debris tore through the mountainous region,
00:55devastating infrastructure and settlements on both sides of the border. The border crossing was
01:01destroyed, villages were hit, and critical infrastructure, including hydropower facilities
01:07and tunnels, suffered major damage. Casualties quickly mounted, while thousands were affected
01:14and large numbers of people were reported missing. But the biggest controversy is over what caused the
01:21disaster and whether Nepal received enough warning. According to Chinese authorities, the disaster began
01:28with an earthquake-like event or high-altitude glacier collapse on the Nepali side. The resulting ice
01:35avalanche triggered a chain reaction of landslides and mudflows. China says the avalanche moved into Tibet,
01:43devastated the border crossing, and then continued downstream toward Nepal. Some Nepali assessments
01:50and international mountain experts have also pointed toward a massive glacial rock slide or collapse near
01:58the Langtang-Lirong region on the Nepali side. But questions over early warnings have not gone away.
02:05Nepali officials and political figures have raised concerns that the flooding arrived with extraordinary speed,
02:12reportedly leaving some communities with only minutes to react. There have also been concerns over whether
02:19Nepal received sufficient real-time information about glaciers, water levels, avalanches, and other
02:27high-altitude hazards. Those concerns became particularly sensitive after earlier discussions between Nepal and
02:34China on transboundary disaster information sharing. China, however, says cooperation was already underway.
02:43The embassy says Chinese and Nepali authorities have been working on a transboundary disaster
02:49information sharing mechanism. It points to a Chinese delegation's visit to Nepal in May,
02:55followed by scientific exchanges in August involving Chinese mountain hazard experts. And on the day of the
03:03disaster itself, China says its meteorological authorities held an urgent virtual meeting with Nepal's
03:10Department of Hydrology and Meteorology to assess the situation and share data. Beijing also says it had provided
03:18satellite imagery, hydrological information, and barrier lake monitoring data following the disaster, while also
03:26offering emergency assistance and specialist rescue teams. The casualty figures have continued to change
03:33as rescue operations move forward, with Nepal and China reporting different numbers at different stages.
03:40What remains clear is that the disaster has exposed the enormous risks facing communities living along one of the
03:47world's most dangerous mountain frontiers. And while allegations over warnings and Chinese
03:54infrastructure continue to circulate, there is currently no independent, conclusive evidence
04:00establishing that a Chinese infrastructure failure triggered the disaster, or that Beijing deliberately
04:07withheld a precise warning about the glacier collapse. The immediate challenge now is rescue.
04:13But once the emergency is over, the bigger question will be whether Nepal and China can build a stronger
04:20real-time warning system capable of detecting the next Himalayan disaster before it becomes a catastrophe.
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