Nepal to rebuild early-warning system on China border after deadly flood, sources say

Nepal is moving to rebuild an early-warning system on its border with China after a glacial flood killed at least 1,114 people across the two countries and left nearly 4,000 missing. The planned equipment includes seismic sensors, cameras and a satellite link at Timure, a border settlement in Rasuwa district.

The site lies along the same river corridor where a collapsing glacier sent a huge mass of mud, water and rock through mountain valleys. Officials told Reuters that the landscape is still adjusting after the disaster, creating concern that further landslides could follow.

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The landscape is adjusting after the mega event, so it could trigger a few more landslides.

The system will use a Very Small Aperture Terminal, or VSAT, to keep monitoring posts connected even when mobile networks go down. That failure occurred during last week’s flood, when at least four gauging stations near the border stopped working. Officials said a previous warning system sent messages every few minutes, but floodwaters swept it away.

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We had sensors and monitoring stations, but they were not being monitored extensively.

“We had sensors and monitoring stations, but they were not being monitored extensively,” one source said. “Because we were unaware, we couldn't check when they failed.” Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority plans to install cameras, sensors and the VSAT at one site initially. Officials have already surveyed the area by helicopter and expect more installations to follow.

The plans have not been formally announced. Two Nepali government sources spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss them. China has said it shared imagery, satellite and hydrological data, along with early-warning information about upstream barrier lakes, with Nepal after the disaster.

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Because we were unaware, we couldn't check when they failed.