▲ Search and rescue operations in Tibet, China
Concerns are growing over secondary damage in China's Tibet region following massive floods in Nepal.
While Chinese authorities have assessed that the likelihood of the natural dam upstream collapsing is low, rescue personnel were evacuated after a landslide near the dam created an additional new natural lake.
According to state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), the Information Office of the People's Government of Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region held a press conference in Gyirong, Tibet, on the 30th, stating, "Water is already overflowing and draining from the landslide dam formed upstream of the core area of the national border port, and the overall condition is currently stable."
It added that the possibility of a total collapse of the dam is relatively low.
Previously, Chinese authorities stated that a large-scale debris flow struck upstream of the Gyirong Port (Kerung) in the Tibet Autonomous Region, where earth and rocks blocked a river to form a natural dam and a large lake.
Rescue operations had been temporarily suspended as the water overflowed.
According to the authorities' announcement today, the current water storage of the Gyirong natural dam is 2.2 million cubic meters, with an average height of 60 meters.
Parts of the lake bed have been exposed.
As of 5:50 p.m. the previous day, the inflow was estimated at 23 cubic meters per second, and the outflow at 50 cubic meters per second.
This means more water is flowing out of the lake than is coming in.
However, authorities are closely monitoring the situation as a landslide occurred about 2.8 kilometers away from the existing natural dam lake, forming a new natural dam.
According to China's Ministry of Emergency Management, drone surveillance late the previous night confirmed that a new natural dam lake was forming, prompting emergency rescue workers near the Gyirong Port to move to safe locations.
During the press conference, it was also mentioned that the disaster was caused by glaciers becoming unstable due to the long-term impacts of global warming.
Chinese authorities stated, "This disaster was characterized by its sudden onset, large peak flood discharge, fast movement speed, strong destructive power, and wide impact range," adding, "These are new and distinct characteristics seen in glacier and permafrost disasters on the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas."
According to the cause investigation results released by authorities today, the disaster was triggered at 10:52 a.m. (local Chinese time) on the 26th when a glacier on the southern slope of Langtang Lirung in Nepal broke and split at an altitude of about 5,200 meters, causing both the glacier and rock to collapse together, known as an ice-rock collapse.
The ice and rocks then fell rapidly down to an altitude of about 4,000 meters, carving away the mountainside and forming a massive debris flow.
The debris flow swept down a distance of about 22 kilometers at a very high speed, reaching the Gyirong Port in China at an altitude of about 1,800 meters.
As a result, 27 buildings and auxiliary facilities were completely devastated across an area of about 0.7 square kilometers.
An area of 0.7 square kilometers is roughly equivalent to 100 international-standard soccer fields.
It took only 6 to 7 minutes from the time of the ice-rock collapse to the moment it struck the Gyirong Port.
Authorities are strengthening monitoring regarding the possibility of secondary disasters.
In particular, they emphasized the need to guard against the dangerous situation where glacial moraine remaining on the left mountainside of the collapse point could trigger further debris flows.
As of 6:00 p.m. on the 29th, Chinese authorities announced that casualties in the Tibet region related to the Nepal floods stood at 16 dead and 546 missing, including 261 foreign nationals.
The missing foreign nationals are from 23 countries, including Nepal (104), India (49), Latvia (33), the United States (18), and the United Kingdom (15).
There were no South Korean nationals among the missing persons in Tibet.
China's Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Emergency Management urgently allocated 120 million yuan (approximately 24.6 billion KRW) in funds for emergency rescue and recovery operations, while the National Development and Reform Commission also allocated 100 million yuan (approximately 20.5 billion KRW).
Currently, search and rescue operations involve 2,141 personnel from the People's Liberation Army, armed police, fire departments, and public security, along with 269 vehicles and 3,922 sets of equipment.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.