Chinese scientists begin joint disaster survey in Nepal

A team of Chinese scientists will travel to Nepal to conduct a joint field survey of a major geological disaster that affected both countries.

The cross-border emergency scientific expedition, led by China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and jointly organized with the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), will depart from Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Sunday. The mission will last about 20 days and cover the disaster source area in Nepal, affected areas in China and downstream areas across the entire river basin.

On August 26, a glacier collapse in northern Nepal triggered a cross-border mudslide, causing major casualties. The disaster originated in Nepal and developed across river basins and national borders, with the resulting chain of events affecting Gyirong Port in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region and areas along more than 100 kilometers of the route in Nepal. Gyirong Port was the main affected area on the Chinese side.

Because the disaster evolved across national borders, investigations from one side alone cannot fully reconstruct the event. A joint field survey in Nepal is therefore considered essential to tracing the disaster chain from its source.

More than 50 researchers from over 10 universities and research institutions in China and Nepal are taking part. Chinese Academy of Sciences academician Wang Chengshan and NAST academician Bishal Upreti are serving as chief scientists.

The team will use drones, helicopter surveys and field geological mapping and sampling to reconstruct how the initial ice-rock collapse developed into a debris flow, debris flood and flood in stages. They will also assess patterns of erosion, transport and deposition along the disaster path.

The findings are expected to provide scientific support for reconstructing the disaster chain and restoring and rebuilding Gyirong Port while contributing to disaster risk management in the Himalayan region amid climate change.