Kathmandu, Aug. 26 -- Nepal is increasingly exposed to the dangers created by a rapidly warming Himalayas, where melting glaciers, unstable mountain slopes and extreme weather are raising the risk of sudden and destructive floods.Such events are sometimes described as "inland tsunamis."The exact cause of the latest devastating flooding remains under investigation. Initial assessments suggest that an earthquake may have triggered an avalanche of ice and rock, which then temporarily blocked the Bhote Koshi River. The blockage is believed to have released a sudden surge of water downstream.
"This is a cascading hazard," said Saswata Sanyal of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu. Melting glaciers ...