There was a video on threads earlier today (probably long gone now) of some of the bodies they were finding. Just truly horrific what that amount of sheer force can do to a person.
The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood
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Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood
#52Paywall. I'm not sure how you expect anyone to read this
I agree, paywall makes it literally literally unreadable
Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
This event has nothing to do with climate change and is pure fear mongering. This is the same adage used by the Governments with the "think about the children" campaigns, its a distraction. A cop out.
Yeah, the event primarily marked by receding glaciers probably has nothing to do with this glacier that weakened to the point of destroying a village. This glacier probably melted many times in the past, especially in such a sudden and violent manner. I'm sure this is in no way anomalous, nor is it something that could predictably result at some point from a warming planet.
The Missoula Floods. This kind of thing has been happening for a good long time.
That doesn’t diminish the tragedy in any way, this event was shocking and brutal. But it wasn’t the first and won’t be the last.
Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Which places have you found? I'm in Canada and figured most of the places are going to suffer more rain falling in the next decades.
Great Lakes area is probably well positioned.
Everybody is saying that the Great Lakes region is a climate haven, but it's intensely vulnerable to both polar vortex events coming down from Canada and wet-bulb heat waves coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. The middle of America is flat; there is no natural barrier to stop a frigid or sweltering airmass from moving in. This has already happened multiple times within just the last few years.
In terms of death toll, a power outage during a severe deep freeze (with subzero temperatures and -50 wind chills) or a wet bulb event has a far greater lethality potential than wildfires. The most deadly wildfire in California history was the Camp fire that leveled the town of Paradise; it caused 85 deaths. The Oakland Hills firestorm of 1989, immortalized in SimCity and several made-for-TV movies, only caused 25 deaths. By contrast, the 1995 Chicago heat wave caused 740 fatalities, and even the 2024 polar vortex event that barely made headlines killed more people (90) than the Camp Fire.
(Also note the low absolute numbers of even very severe, headline-grabbing natural disasters in developed countries. And that good construction can mitigate almost all of them. You are probably better off, in strict actuarial terms, by settling in a place where you can make a lot of money and then using it to prepare your home for disaster than by settling in a place that is cheaper but where you can't afford the latest building technology.)
Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's awful to see dozens of people running and knowing they're all gone. It wasn't even close. They were so small compared to that absolute FORCE .
This is true, and, relatedly, is the feeling I have about all of climate change. By the numbers, it won't be close. Of course, this little preview is itself anthropogenic. This horrific disaster is the thinnest tendril of the monster we have unleashed.
Deaths from. atrial disasters are the lowest in history: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/422084/climate-change-nat...
Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood
#56Is Switzerland exposed to similar risk, given the amount of glaciers?
Probably not. Most alpine valleys were carved by glaciers and have a characteristic U-shaped profile. When you get a landslide into a glacial valley, it hits the relatively flat floor and breaks itself apart. The valleys themselves are usually wide enough that they don't dam either. The alps also have significantly less relief than the Himalayas. The valley where the floods occurred in Nepal has a V-shape, and the pe…
> The valley where the floods occurred in Nepal has a V-shape
https://earth.google.com/web/@28.34107217,85.43477356,2834.6...
Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Both figuratively and literally, this experience was the tip of the iceberg. Terrifying. People might think I'm crazy, but I'm choosing my retirement location 100% based on resistance to climate change. Local water, too much humidity for massive fires, too cold for insane heatwaves... you get it.
Pro tip for people moving north; don't buy land in the valleys around Mt. Rainier. This type of flood (also known as a lahar) has occurred there many times. The mudflows reached the harbor of Tacoma in the past. [0] I expect we'll see at least one new one in our lifetime, as the glaciers have been greatly affected by rising temperatures. [0] https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/mt-rainier-lahar-hazard-ma...
Do you have a source about the Nepalese flood being a Lahar? I've only read that it was caused due to the glacier collapse, which seems like a different thing
Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Both figuratively and literally, this experience was the tip of the iceberg. Terrifying. People might think I'm crazy, but I'm choosing my retirement location 100% based on resistance to climate change. Local water, too much humidity for massive fires, too cold for insane heatwaves... you get it.
I've seen recommendations for locations near the Great Lakes. Upper peninsula of MI, for example. Plenty of water. A warming climate should actually make the winters there somewhat less harsh.
Depends on how much warming. Some areas of the UP are colder temperature wise, but because it stays below freezing most of the winter the humidity stays low and it doesn't feel so bad. Where as some lower areas in Michigan now regularly break the freezing line in winter and everything is always a sopping mess with cold high humidity and no snow to act as insulation for buildings.
Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood
#59[flagged]
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Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Honestly there is no safe haven while humans over-consume continue to waste in the chase of excess. We have seen in the last few years all the supposed climate safe areas get hit hard. https://www.npr.org/2024/10/09/nx-s1-5137024/climate-haven-h...
birth rates are falling off the cliff in all developed nations, most are below replacement rate already
Most developing nations are below too now!