Another Glacial Lake Found at Higher Altitude... Fears of 'Secondary Floods' Persist

[Anchor]

In the high-altitude region of the Himalayas where the massive floods began, another glacial lake—a natural dam formed by collapsed glaciers and debris—has been additionally spotted. Although the water level of this glacial lake has dropped compared to yesterday (the 28th), the situation is still far from safe.

Reporter Son Hyeong-an has more.

[Reporter]

This is a satellite image taken on the 28th, local time, of the alpine region near the border between Nepal and China, where the devastating floods originated.

A glacial lake, a natural dam created by accumulated soil and debris from the glacier and rock collapse that triggered the massive floods four days ago, is visible.

And further up at a higher altitude to the southeast on the satellite photo, another glacial lake is spotted.

It appears more rectangular and larger in scale than the first glacial lake, and footage capturing melted glacier and snow water flowing into it was also captured.

Previously yesterday, a glacial lake located at an altitude of 2,950 meters overflowed, prompting evacuation orders and crisis alerts to be issued in downstream affected areas.

The water level of the problematic glacial lake is known to have dropped by about 10 meters from its peak yesterday.

[Phoenix TV Report (China): (According to on-site observation results) The water level of the glacial lake has dropped by more than 10 meters. The dangerous situation appears to have eased significantly.]

Additional footage of the initial glacier and rock collapse beneath Mount Langtang Lirung, which caused the massive floods, has also been released. The collapse of the glacier and surrounding rocks sliced off the surface like tofu, and analysis showed that a lake spanning 120,000 square meters was formed below the initial collapse point.

[Chen Hongqi / Geological Hazard Technical Guidance Center, Ministry of Natural Resources of China: The risk of secondary disaster is extremely high. I want to emphasize that in addition to the glacial lake, a funnel-shaped body of water actually exists below the point where the glacier collapse began.]

Chinese authorities have set up an observation post consisting of five people for real-time monitoring, and Nepal is also mobilizing helicopters to monitor the water level of the glacial lake, staying on high alert for the possibility of secondary floods and preparing for any potential emergencies.

Reported by Son Hyeong-an | Video editing by Jung Sung-hoon | Design by Kim Min-young
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.