Following an unfortunate rock-ice avalanche event in the Northern part of Langtang Himalayas, the Nepal-China trans-boundary debris flash flood erupted in the early morning of August 26, 2026, sweeping away almost everything in the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river corridors past the Rasuwa-Gyirong port.
From early hours of the disaster, we at CAILIC and partners in Nepal and abroad (comprising civil-structural and geotechnical engineers, hydrology and water resource engineer, earthquake engineer, satellite, remote sensing and GIS specialists, land-use planners, AI and IoT (sensor and data) specialists, electronics, information and communication engineers, drone specialists, geophysicists, hydropower and tunnel engineers etc.) are continuously observing the damage and loss. We are trying to understand the mechanics of the disaster, and remotely assisting the emergency response activities with a focus on search and rescue in tunnel and underground powerhouse structures.
Moreover, we are thinking about and exploring appropriate technological and design solutions for shelter reconstruction (for build back better) that uniquely demands resistance to earthquake-like forces (where lesser mass of the structure is generally favorable) as well as impact forces induced by such hazards as flood, debris and landslide (where heavier mass provides better mechanical cushion).
Furthermore, we are deriving a number of lessons learned from the damage and loss observations in this event, the SAR campaign (where we tried to complement the field efforts with near-real-time numerical simulations of debris ingress) and the limitations evident in existing planning, monitoring, surveillance, infrastructure design and communication systems. Accordingly, one of our teams is timely working on next generation early warning system (EWS).
Our activities of the first few weeks in the aftermath of the disaster can be found summarized in the LinkedIn page of CAILIC. And more formal reports and findings can be found documented systematically ahead.
Irrespective let’s keep contributing to future resilience by embracing the monitoring, planning, design, construction, surveillance, communication and evacuation frameworks that can respond to multi-hazards (cascading, amplifying and intersecting) resulting into extreme environmental events like the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli Debris Flash Flood.
Assoc. Prof. Shanker Dhakal, PhD Eng (StructE/DRM), On behalf of the collaborators at CAILIC & Partners, CAILIC, ACEM, IOE, Tribhuvan University, Kalanki, Kathmandu
Email: shanker.dhakal(AT)acem.edu.np; Whatsapp: +977 984411675Three