Tenzing Norgay’s Sherpa village in Everest region witnesses major flooding after likely glacial lake outburst

PTI, Kathmandu, Aug 16, 2024 : The famous Sherpa village of Thame witnessed massive floods following a possible glacial lake outburst in the Everest region of Nepal on Friday devastating more than half of its homes, covering them with muck and debris, according to media reports.

     

Three houses and a hotel have been destroyed, and five more are at risk, local media quoted Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Dwarika Prasad Ghimire of the District Police Office, Solukhumbu, as saying.

The damage was caused by a flooded Thame rivulet, one of the tributaries of Dudhkoshi River.

Authorities have warned residents downstream of a flash flood.

The Himalayan Times newspaper quoted Mingma Sherpa of Thamechho Kydug from Thame as saying: “Lakes beneath Thengbo Glacier witnessed major outbursts this afternoon, causing a massive flood and landslide. More than half of Thame village has been affected.”

The outburst flood from Thengbo Lake near Tashi Lapcha Pass hit the village, famous as the birthplace of legendary Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who along with New Zealand’s Edmund Hillary was the first to summit Mount Everest, the highest in the world, in May 1953.

However, the Kathmandu Post quoted Chief District Officer Devi Pandey, who said, “Although there are rumours of a glacial lake outburst, it has not yet been confirmed.”

She added that it is raining in the affected area, which could be the cause of the flood. She said the full extent of the damage is still being assessed.

Located at about 12,500 feet above sea level in the Khumbu Valley near the Namche Bazaar, the main village that serves as the entry to the Everest region, the village is also home to famous record-breaking Everest climbers including Apa Sherpa, Kami Rita Sherpa, and Lakpa Rita Sherpa, among others.

Downstream settlements near Dhudhkoshi River have been alerted, he added.

“Homes of the Thame hamlet of Nepal's legendary mountaineers have been swept by flood and landslide possibly owning to glacial melt. As of now, no human loss is reported in this Everest region of East Nepal,” Birat Aanupam, a travel writer, posted on X.

Glacial lake outburst floods, or GLOF, is a sudden release of water from a lake fed by glacier melt that has formed at the side, in front, within, beneath, or on the surface of a glacier, according to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a regional intergovernmental organisation representing the eight Himalayan nations.

Experts have warned that global warming poses major threats to glacial lakes and subsequent GLOFs in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs, in coordination with the Defence Ministry, has directed the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, and Nepal Police for search, rescue, and disaster management operations, The Kathmandu Post said.