Nepal Disaster

August 26, 2026

We and the entire world were shocked by the major disaster in Nepal and China from the collapse of a part of a mountain and the resulting major flood. Current reporting on Sep 3 suggested over 100 deaths and about 4000 still missing. I learned a lot from a YouTube video Nepal Disaster with commentator Gwen Holdmann of Critical Latitude. A fairly thorough discussion of the event and its causes.

The source of the material is Mt Lang Leong, over 33,000 ft in Nepal and Tibet. I think the material came from about 23000 ft altitude. In 13 miles from the peak there is a drop of 10,000 ft. On the morning of 8/26 a Chinese drone detected a large crack from the peak down the side of the mountain. 8 minutes later a 6 story customs building on Chinese border destroyed. The analysis stated that it was 7 miles to the customs building in 14 minutes. or a speed of about a hundred miles per hour!

300 vehicles at the customs building swept away in a moment.

Along the way the edge of the destroyed tree line gave a depth of 300 ft.

The roaring torrent traveled to the Trishuli valley , about 62miles. It took out 41 bridges! There were six hydroelectric plants along the route, but the roaring flood knocked 431 Megawatts of electricity off the grid in a single morning. It destroyed 26 miles of highway. The time was about 50 minutes between the mountain letting go and the arrival of the flood. 50 minutes was enough to save most, but they weren't told. The stations along the path were destroyed before they could report the danger. Critical sites for warning were not on the Nepali side. Technology on China side more advanced. 768 confirmed dead and 2500 more missing at that stage. One of the major concerns in searching for victims was the long tunnels that fed water to the six, hydroelectric plants. One of the comments was that there might have been scores of workmen in those tunnels.

The people in the Trishuli valley in Nepal had 50 minutes

Rock slurry traveled down the valley of a small river, maybe reaching 100 mph 90 Americans, 600 foreign nationals confirmed dead. Bodies have been recovered 150 miles away at the age of India.

Instrumentation was on the China side. Tibet is part of China.

Detection equipment doesn't reach Nepal

Six hydroelectric plants provide power. Besides the turbines, hundreds of workers

The setup for disastrous surprise.

10,000 ft of drop to the pier area.

A drastic comparison: Dropping 10,000 ft in 13 miles compared to the Mississippi River's drop of 750 ft in 1700 miles

62 Miles of valley where it took out 41 bridges and 26 miles of road.

The small stream called the Lende Cola.

Four things in a line. The Lhende Khola is a tributary of the Bhote Koshi River

The path it took.

A valley you could throw a stone across.

Showing the origin of the material

There was evidence of a temporary blockage, which may have intensified the impact.

Measures taken near Mt. Ranier to guard against such a disaster in the U,S,