00:00The floods in Nepal are becoming extremely serious.
00:02The number of missing people has already surpassed 3,000.
00:04If you add up all the casualties, the total exceeds 3,500.
00:07But in this situation, criticism is spreading widely on social media that China may have
00:11intentionally not delivered an early warning to Nepal.
00:14It seems that anti-China sentiment is suddenly spreading within Nepal.
00:18In fact, to understand why these comments are being made, we need to go back three months.
00:22According to a Reuters report, officials from Nepal and China met in Kathmandu, Nepal,
00:26all on May 27 to discuss ways to cooperate on floods, weather, and glacial disasters.
00:30At that time, Nepalese officials said they wanted to know as early as possible if there
00:33were any initial movements in or around the glaciers.
00:36China provides forecasts and observation data for heavy rain in Tibet, but not for avalanches,
00:41water levels, landslides, or major events, so Nepal had previously requested that such
00:45information be shared.
00:46But exactly three months later, just as Nepal had feared, a massive flood occurred, resulting
00:50in significant loss of life.
00:51As this information spread, public opinion in Nepal has grown very critical of China
00:56with many saying that if China had provided sufficient early warnings, such major damage
01:00could have been avoided.
01:01Of course, China claims that it did provide important information to Nepal in a timely manner,
01:05saying that it warned about increased rainfall and the possibility of landslides and flash floods
01:0912 days before the disaster occurred.
01:11However, this has not been enough to calm the anger of the Nepalese citizens.
01:15However, separately from this, I am concerned that the large-scale development taking place
01:19in the Himalayan region itself could increase the risk of similar disasters in the future.
01:22The important point is that this issue does not apply only to China.
01:26This is because China, India, and Nepal are all competitively expanding hydropower plants,
01:30roads, railways, tunnels, and power grids in the Himalayan and Tibetan Plateau regions.
01:34In particular, since the Himalayas have a very complex geological structure and are
01:38areas prone to earthquakes, landslides, and glacial lake outburst floods, there are concerns
01:42that careful examination is needed to understand how ground changes caused by large-scale construction
01:46are related to disaster risks.
01:48The Indian Express focused on large-scale excavation sites and tunnel construction throughout the
01:52Himalayas.
01:53Large-scale blasting and excavation are being carried out to cut through the mountainous
01:56regions, and facilities to control the flow of rivers for hydropower generation are also
02:00continuously being built.
02:02Mirsa Zulfikwar Rahman, a researcher of the Brahmaputra River Basin, pointed out these developments
02:06and expressed concerns that, in the end, the Himalayas will become the biggest victim.
02:10The scale of development is also considerable.
02:12According to data cited by the Indian Express, at least 193 dams have been built or are planned
02:18for construction in Tibet since 2000.
02:20It has also been reported that more than 570 hydropower projects are being pursued in
02:24Nepal.
02:24India is also pursuing several hydropower projects in the Himalayan region to harness its vast
02:28hydropower potential and is expanding the construction of power grids, roads, and tunnels.
02:32If you look at a single project, it can be seen as development for the local economy and
02:36power supply.
02:37But since hundreds of projects are being carried out simultaneously in several countries, there
02:41are concerns that we need to consider the cumulative environmental impact as well.
02:44There is still no direct evidence that this massive flood was caused by these development
02:47projects.
02:48However, in the wake of this disaster, there are growing calls for large-scale development
02:51projects in the Himalayas to be evaluated more strictly for their impact on the natural
02:55environment and disaster risk.
02:56In particular, if dams, tunnels, roads, and railways continue to be built in the future,
03:00experts point out that we need to consider not only the safety of individual projects but
03:03also the cumulative impact that can occur when multiple development projects are concentrated
03:07in one area.
03:08Meanwhile, as criticism continues to mount, China and Nepal have agreed to expand the sharing
03:12of real-time hydrological data.
03:13Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the two countries discussed expanding
03:17cooperation for sharing real-time hydrological data and strengthening mechanisms to establish
03:21an effective early warning system.
03:23However, some media outlets and social media in Nepal are widely spreading claims that this
03:27massive flood was caused by China.
03:29Currently the damage caused by the floods in Nepal is extremely severe.
03:32With large-scale infrastructure destroyed, the cost of recovery that the Nepalese government
03:35has to bear amounts to about 10% of Nepal's GDP.
03:38If we combine the official figures from both countries, the death toll is at least 804 with
03:422,715 injured and more than 3,048 missing.
03:46In particular, bodies presumed to be victims are being found along rivers flowing down from
03:50Nepal into India, so the actual death toll is likely to increase further.
03:54Currently, the main focus of the rescue operations is the Upper Trisholi-1 Hydropower Project tunnel.
03:59It is suspected that around 100 workers may be trapped there.
04:02The rescue team is trying to enter the tunnel by removing the thick mud and collapsed rocks blocking
04:06it, but there is not enough space for helicopters to land safely at the site, and the bad weather
04:11continues, making it difficult to speed up the operation.
04:14Currently, 82 military and police personnel have been deployed to excavate the tunnel entrance
04:18and carry out rescue operations to access the inside.
04:21At the same time, searches are being conducted to check for the possibility of survivors remaining
04:24inside.
04:25However, it appears that the rescue operation is not making much progress.
04:28It is estimated that at least 540 foreigners have also been affected by this disaster.
04:33Many of them are Indian nationals, Hindu pilgrims, and mountain tourists who were heading to
04:37Mount Kailash and Lake Manasaravar in Tibet.
04:40China is also evacuating residents and tourists stranded in the Jurong area, but the rugged
04:43terrain of cliffs and valleys is making search and rescue operations very difficult.
04:47The Nepalese government is currently conducting rescue operations.
04:49They have determined that it is difficult to respond with only their own rescue personnel
04:52and have requested technical support from the international community.
04:55Previously, they refused international assistance out of concern that it might cause confusion
04:58in the rescue command structure, but they have now reversed their position and are requesting
05:02support.
05:03Tishir Khanal, Nepal's foreign minister, stated that they need specialized technology to
05:06rescue people trapped in tunnels, equipment to restore destroyed bridges and communication
05:10facilities, DNA analysis technology to identify victims, and facilities and equipment to
05:14store a large number of bodies.
05:16Bodies continue to be found in the affected areas, but there is a limit to the capacity of
05:20storage facilities, so they have to carry out identification and hand over to the families at the same time.
05:24In other words, they are short-handed, currently only four countries, Korea, India, China, and
05:29Australia have been approved to send rescue teams.
05:31The Korean rescue team is also continuing rescue operations in Nepal, but it seems they are facing
05:35difficulties.
05:36Thick layers of mud are covering the accident site, making the rescue operations challenging.
05:40Because there are so many casualties, there aren't enough morgues to store the bodies.
05:43As a result, the Nepalese government has decided to proceed with mass burials.
05:47The morgue in Chitwan can only hold up to 39 bodies, but 279 remains arrived at once.
05:52On top of that, since the bodies were underwater for a long time, they have started to decompose,
05:56making identification difficult.
05:58Because of this, the government is only taking photos, recording markers, and collecting DNA
06:02samples before proceeding with the mass burials.
06:04More than 109 burials are taking place in a single day.
06:06In this situation, an even bigger problem is that the ongoing rescue operations themselves
06:11could be halted due to the risk of additional disasters.
06:13Because of the flood, massive amounts of soil and rocks have piled up in the upper valleys,
06:17forming barrier lakes that block the flow of water.
06:19Unlike artificial dams, these barrier lakes are held back by soil, gravel, and rocks,
06:24so their structure may not be stable.
06:25As water continues to flow in and the water level rises, parts of the natural embankment
06:29could erode or collapse, leading to a sudden additional flood.
06:32In fact, the Nepalese authorities are asking rescue workers and nearby residents to pay special
06:37attention to changes in the water level upstream.
06:39For the rescue team, they need to approach the site to find people trapped inside the tunnel,
06:43but if the water suddenly rises from upstream, the rescue team itself may have to evacuate.
06:46Such situations have already happened several times, especially since many roads and bridges
06:50have already been destroyed.
06:51There are limited routes to move to safe areas in an emergency.
06:54On top of that, with the rainy season overlapping, there is also a possibility that the river
06:57level could rise again if additional rainfall occurs.
06:59What is even more concerning is that, because of the natural formations created this time,
07:03it's not a problem that can be solved by checking just one area.
07:05In the Himalaya mountain region, there are several glacial lakes and unstable terrains,
07:10so if additional collapses or landslides occur in certain areas, there is a possibility that
07:14new waterways could form or large amounts of water and sediment could flow into existing
07:17rivers.
07:18Because of this, additional constraints may arise in the ongoing rescue and recovery
07:21operations in the affected areas.
07:23The Chinese site explains that due to the natural formations upstream, some water is overflowing
07:26and escaping, so the possibility of a collapse is relatively low.
07:29However, since the stability of the natural embankment can vary depending on how much water
07:33has seeped inside and which parts of the embankment have weakened, continuous monitoring is necessary.
07:38In this disaster, rescue operations are being carried out while continuously monitoring the
07:41water level upstream and the condition of the natural embankment.
07:44Although the affected residents have already experienced a large-scale flood, it is difficult
07:48for them to relax because there is still a risk of additional flooding.
07:51Above all, this major flood was caused by global warming.
07:54As long as global warming continues, similar incidents can occur in various regions.
07:59Even if it's not the Himalayas, similar incidents can happen anywhere
08:03there are glaciers, such as the Alps or the Andes.
08:06Especially in areas where lakes formed by melting glaciers and unstable mountainous terrain
08:10coexist, the possibility of large-scale unpredictable disasters is increasing.
08:15A new threat has emerged.
08:16Ah.
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