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The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

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Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

#61

Post by Markoff »

IncreasePosts wrote: post #41
glimshe wrote: post #6

I haven't yet been able to properly internalize the horror of this scene. Maybe because we're exposed to so many images from disaster and action movies/videogames, I got somewhat desensitized to the "graphics", so to speak. It's like my brain is denial. At the same time, I know this is real and a tragedy in an unimaginable scale. Every "little walking figure" is a full human being with dreams, fears and a rich life s…

You might want to take an intense media break. I went to 4chan to find more videos of the event, something it's rather good for, and even those guys were largely shocked and flabbergasted at the scale of the carnage and destruction

any link or to way how to find it there? I though it will be in the current events but can't find it and search feature doesnt work

edit: seems the only way to search the site is the google, this thread has few videos

https://boards.4chan.org/pol/thread/541442303

https://boards.4chan.org/pol/thread/541527487/nepal-images

Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

#62

Post by waste_monk »

pcthrowaway wrote: post #57
hodgesrm wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I can't access the OP article at the moment, but there's a diagram of the the chain of events that caused the disaster here [1].

I believe Lahars are specifically volcanic, this would be better described as a combination flood and landslide at the same time.

[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c6y8mjmnpxv0t?post=asset%3Ac6b...

Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

#63

Post by manarth »

tintor wrote: post #13

Is Switzerland exposed to similar risk, given the amount of glaciers?

It's already happening: Swiss and French Alps, Italian Alps, Dolomites…

Marmolada glacier collapse, Italian Dolomites (2022)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/05/within-five-mi...

https://www.politico.eu/article/climate-change-italy-canazei...

Village buried, Blatten, Switzerland (2025)

https://planetski.eu/2025/05/29/swiss-village-hit-by-landsli...

Evacuations after rockfall (2025)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/30/rockfalls-ital...

Evacuations, mudslides, bridge destroyed (2026 – last week)

https://italien.news/en/chronicle/severe-weather-hits-northe...

Village threatened, Kandersteg Switzerland (2026 – last week)

https://planetski.eu/2026/08/19/monitoring-continues-on-moun...

Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

#64

Post by bschwindHN »

IG_Semmelweiss wrote: post #22
kulahan wrote: post #7

Earlier 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 .

Is it correct to say that the video looks far worse than it actually is ? As in, the dust/mud particles sprayed & floating in the air do not have the force to do harm beyond vision or breathing impairment, similar to the dust from a collapsing building, or the lead shockwave of a nuclear bomb detonation. Of course, it looks terrible, and certainly somethingbut its not a reason to perish as long as you can stay away f…

Just hold your breath, bro, no reason to perish, bro.

Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

#65

Post by atoav »

tintor wrote: post #13

Is Switzerland exposed to similar risk, given the amount of glaciers?

As someone from the Austrian alps: Of course as the climate is warming the glaciers are collapsing. At this point thst has been observable with my own eyes during my relatively short lifespan.

That of course means the old wisdom in which places to settle is safe no longer holds. However placed like Austria or Switzerland have top notch tech and public serviced, meaning glaciers are condtantly surveiled and such risks have a much bigger chance of getting noticed here than in the relatively poor Nepalese mountain region. But that doesn't mean black swan events are always preventable.

It really hits the most kind and humble people in Nepal as I know from the stories my grandparents (both avid alpinists) told me about being there.

Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

#66

Post by kulahan »

mlhpdx wrote: post #53
kulahan wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

“Guys this isn’t global climate change, this happened once before at the end of the ice age!”

I have no clue what point you’re trying to make, but I don’t think you got it across here.

Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

#67

Post by pjc50 »

debo_ wrote: post #12
glimshe wrote: post #6

I haven't yet been able to properly internalize the horror of this scene. Maybe because we're exposed to so many images from disaster and action movies/videogames, I got somewhat desensitized to the "graphics", so to speak. It's like my brain is denial. At the same time, I know this is real and a tragedy in an unimaginable scale. Every "little walking figure" is a full human being with dreams, fears and a rich life s…

About 18 years ago, some guy at work was laughing at a video of someone being blown to pieces by an explosive device. People kept walking by his desk and laughing, I suppose because it looked so cartoonish that it felt more like looney tunes than real life. As an experiment, I showed the same video to my 85-year old grandmother, and she cried out in horror and prayed for the people in the video for a solid hour after…

Internet desentitization is real and not good. The accumulation of easily accessed horrors dulls the natural empathy.

Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

#68

Post by pjc50 »

pm2222 wrote: post #2

https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-nepal-tibet-glacie... CCTV footage is there. Horrific scene. When you see it coming at you it’s already too late.

What was the comment of the form "climate change will manifest as a series of phone videos of disasters that get closer and closer until you're the one holding the phone?"

Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

#69

Post by rezaprima »

hodgesrm wrote: post #50
kulahan wrote: post #11

Earlier 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...

A bit off topic about the word "lahar", we Indonesians use that word to mean "lava", and we use "lahar dingin" (lit: cold lava) to mean volcanic mudflow.

Re: The mechanics of the Nepali flash flood

#70

Post by lazide »

SoftTalker wrote: post #28
abrowne wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wildfire smoke will be the big question there. It's started to be bad for a week or two a year in Minneapolis, and is only worse the closer you are to the boreal forest.

Wildfires only a problem until the overgrowth is burned off. When there's not enough to sustain a large spreading fire, they will stop happening.

There is a LOT of overgrowth. Expect a decade+ of fires, or an apocalyptic firestorm which burns everything to cinders. Neither is awesome.
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