A new animation shows how a glacier collapse high in Nepal’s Himalayas triggered a devastating debris flow that reached Gyirong Port on the China-Nepal border in just seven minutes. The disaster began at an elevation of 5,140 metres, as a massive glacier broke away and swept ice, rock, mud and sediment downhill. The flow plunged nearly 3,300 metres across only 20 kilometres, reaching speeds of around 50 metres per second. The powerful debris flow devastated the border port and downstream areas, leaving residents with virtually no time to escape. This animation reveals how the disaster rapidly unfolded from glacier collapse to catastrophic mudslide.
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