Nepal Flood Relief

Preparing the valley…

How it happened

The flood came down a valley that had seen no rain. This is the sequence, on the real terrain, as far as anyone has established it.

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Vertical scale ×1.6 · timing not to scale

Stage 1 of 5

The valley

The Bhote Koshi runs south out of Tibet through the Rasuwagadhi crossing, past Timure and Syaphrubesi. The Lhende Khola joins it from the east. On 25 August there had been no heavy rain here.

Give to relief

On 25–26 August, a flash flood tore down the Bhote Koshi river through Rasuwa district. The foundation is raising funds for relief.

The sequence, in full

Every step, in order. Marked where it is inference rather than something anyone has established.

  1. Stage 1

    The valley

    The Bhote Koshi runs south out of Tibet through the Rasuwagadhi crossing, past Timure and Syaphrubesi. The Lhende Khola joins it from the east. On 25 August there had been no heavy rain here.

  2. Stage 2

    8:37 am — a tremorUnder investigation

    A magnitude 4.4 earthquake was recorded in Tibetan territory, about 47 kilometres north of Gosainkunda. Whether it dislodged what came next is one of the open questions.

  3. Stage 3

    Ice and rockUnder investigation

    An ice-rock avalanche is believed to have come off the high ground above the Lhende Khola and run down into the channel. A glacial lake outburst has not been ruled out.

  4. Stage 4

    The river stops

    Debris blocked the Lhende about 20 kilometres upstream of the Miteri bridge, and water began to pool behind it. Nobody downstream had any way of knowing.

  5. Stage 5

    The barrier fails

    The blockage gave way. The surge ran down the Lhende into the Bhote Koshi and on into the Trishuli, taking the Miteri bridge, the dry port at Timure and much of what stood along the corridor.

Elevation: Copernicus DEM GLO-30. © DLR e.V. 2010–2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014–2018, provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA.

Reporting, 26 August 2026: Al Jazeera · UPI · CNN · PBS News