China Says Landslide Creates New Natural Dam Lake, Rescue Workers Evacuated

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 a natural dam in the upper reaches collapsing is low, a landslide near the natural dam has additionally formed a new "natural dam lake," prompting rescue personnel to evacuate.

According to state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), the Information Office of the People's Government of the Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region held a press conference on the 30th in Gyirong, Tibet, stating, "The barrier lake formed upstream of the core area of the national border port is already overflowing and draining," adding, "The overall condition is currently stable."

They also added that the possibility of a total collapse of the natural dam is relatively low.

Previously, Chinese authorities stated that soil and rocks blocked a river upstream of the Gyirong port in the Tibet Autonomous Region, which was struck by massive debris flows, forming a natural dam and a large lake.

Rescue operations had been temporarily suspended due to the overflowing water.

According to the current data released by Chinese authorities today, the water storage of the Gyirong natural dam is 2.2 million cubic meters, with an average height of 60 meters.

The riverbed is exposed in certain sections of the lake.

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 flowing 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 monitoring late the previous night confirmed that a new natural dam lake was forming, prompting emergency rescue personnel near the Gyirong port to relocate to safe areas.

At the press conference, it was also mentioned that the disaster was caused by glaciers destabilizing due to the long-term impact of global warming.

Chinese authorities stated, "This disaster showed characteristics such as sudden occurrence, high peak flood discharge, fast movement speed, strong destructive power, and a 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 investigation results on the cause released by authorities today, the disaster was triggered at 10:52 a.m. on the 26th (local Chinese time) when a glacier on the southern slope of Langtang Lirung in Nepal broke and split at an altitude of about 5,200 meters, causing an ice-rock collapse where glaciers and rocks fell together.

The glaciers and rocks then fell rapidly to an altitude of about 4,000 meters, eroding the mountain slopes and forming a massive debris flow.

The debris flow swept down at a very high speed over a distance of about 22 kilometers, 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 equivalent to about 100 international-standard soccer fields.

It took only 6 to 7 minutes from the time the ice-rock collapsed to the moment it struck the Gyirong port.

Authorities are stepping up monitoring regarding the possibility of secondary disasters.

In particular, they emphasized the need to guard against dangerous situations where glacial moraines remaining on the left mountain slope of the ice-rock collapse point could trigger debris flows.

As of 6 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 foreigners).

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 (approx. 24.6 billion won) in funds for emergency rescue and recovery operations, while the National Development and Reform Commission also allocated 100 million yuan (approx. 20.5 billion won).

Currently, search and rescue operations involve 2,141 personnel from the People's Liberation Army, armed police, fire services, and public security, along with 269 vehicles and 3,922 sets of equipment.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.