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🇰🇷 South Korea /Disasters & Emergencies

Nepal Calls Disaster a “Himalayan Tsunami” and Seeks Climate Compensation From China, U.S. and India

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Nepal said it would pursue legal and moral accountability from China, the United States and India after landslides and floods killed more than 1,000 people across Nepal and Tibet.
  • Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal described the disaster as a “Himalayan tsunami,” not an ordinary flood, and said Nepal was shifting from requests for aid to demands for compensation.
  • Nepal reported 987 deaths and 3,916 missing people, while Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 missing in Tibet.

Nepal is calling the disaster that struck its border region a “Himalayan tsunami” and says the countries responsible for the largest carbon emissions should compensate those suffering its consequences.

We are shifting the diplomatic framework from aid support to the issue of justice and compensation.

— Shishir KhanalNepal’s foreign minister described a change in the country’s response to the disaster.

Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said Nepal was changing its diplomatic approach from asking for humanitarian aid to seeking legal and moral accountability. “We are shifting the diplomatic framework from aid support to the issue of justice and compensation,” he said. “This should not be seen as a matter of charity. This is a matter of legal and moral responsibility.”

Khanal argued that Nepal contributes only a negligible share of global greenhouse-gas emissions but is paying for a crisis it did not cause. He identified China, the United States and India as major carbon-emitting industrial countries with a historical responsibility to compensate vulnerable nations such as Nepal. Nepal’s Finance Ministry has sent formal letters to international partners requesting climate compensation, and Khanal said the issue would be raised clearly at future international forums.

This should not be seen as a matter of charity. This is a matter of legal and moral responsibility.

— Shishir KhanalHe argued that major carbon emitters owe compensation to vulnerable countries.

He also rejected the description of the disaster as a normal flood. After visiting Nuwakot, one of the affected areas, Khanal said the scale of the destruction exposed the limits of ordinary language. He described a wave 20 to 30 meters high and moving at 180 kilometers per hour, comparing it to a tornado and saying “Himalayan tsunami” was a more accurate term.

This disaster was like a tornado in its force, and it is right to call it a Himalayan tsunami.

— Shishir KhanalHe described the scale of the landslides and floods after visiting Nuwakot.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah called for a stronger international response to disasters linked to climate change. Nepalese authorities said 987 people had died and 3,916 remained unaccounted for, including 583 foreign nationals. Chinese state media reported 16 deaths and 546 missing people in Tibet, bringing the combined death toll to 1,003 and the number missing to more than 4,400.

It is time for us to strongly raise with the international community the issue of the disasters we are experiencing as a result of climate change.

— Balendra ShahNepal’s prime minister called for international attention to the disaster.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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