Flood survivors in Nepal face uncertain shelter as new study maps glacial‑lake flood risk

An avalanche on August 26 triggered a deadly flood that killed more than 1,400 people and displaced tens of thousands in Nepal’s Rasuwa district. Survivors such as the elderly couple Nangsi and Singhbir Tamang have been moved from donor tents to a tin‑thatched room in the Bada Chautara temporary camp, which now shelters 511 people and many fear another forced relocation. A recent scientific study has calculated that roughly 294,000 people live in areas of extreme flood risk downstream of Nepal’s high‑altitude basins, with about 108,000 directly downstream of potentially unstable glacial lakes. The study notes that tourism, trade routes and hydropower projects have increased exposure to flood hazards.