[Anchor]

The largest barrier lake—created when a landslide blocked a river and raised fears of a secondary flood at any moment—has fortunately found a natural outlet. However, satellite images have captured additional newly formed barrier lakes, keeping authorities on high alert.

This is correspondent Choi Go-un reporting from Beijing.

[Reporter]

This is a photo captured by a Chinese radar observation satellite piercing through thick clouds.

A dark area can be seen near the northern slope of Langtang Lirung, where the glacier collapsed.

It is presumed to be a newly formed barrier lake.

It is located about 5.6 kilometers away from the barrier lake that raised collapse concerns with a water volume exceeding 2 million tons, at an altitude of 3,700 meters above sea level, which is 800 meters higher.

Its water storage capacity is about 1.4 million tons, and the water flowing out from this location is pooling further down.

[China CCTV Anchor: There are a total of three flooded zones within a 2.5-kilometer radius downstream. The area is under 70,000 square meters, and risk factors still exist.]

Debris is blocking the flow of the river, creating one puddle after another, both large and small.

With the ground already severely weakened by the initial major flood and a complete lack of defensive barriers on the Nepal side, there are concerns that this could bring additional damage.

Meanwhile, it has been determined that the barrier lake upstream of the China-Nepal checkpoint, which was assessed as the most threatening, and the second observed barrier lake have naturally drained, reducing the risk.

[Wang Chenglei / China Ministry of Emergency Management: Through on-site observation and technical monitoring, we confirmed that the water in the barrier lake has naturally discharged. The risk is in a controllable state.]

The high mountain ranges of the Himalayas have permafrost that stays frozen year-round, acting as an adhesive that holds rocks and soil tightly together.

However, as rising temperatures melt the permafrost, it has triggered a chain reaction of disasters: landslides and the formation of barrier lakes.

Chinese authorities announced that image analysis and on-site investigations of the disaster-stricken area revealed about 60 potential geological hazard sites, of which 8 are in a high-risk state.

(Video editing: Cho Mu-hwan, Design: Kim Han-gil)