Nepal sought more data from China on glacier movements, water levels and extreme events three months before flash floods ravaged its border with Tibet. Beijing said it had shared information in a timely manner, as Kathmandu now seeks more frequent warnings to prepare for future disasters.
Three months before glacier-triggered flash floods devastated the Nepal-Tibet border, Nepali and Chinese officials met in Kathmandu in May to discuss disaster risks. Nepal later said it did not get as much data as it wanted from China on glacier movements, water levels and other extreme events to help prepare for such disasters, Reuters reported.
However, China said it had shared important information with Nepal “in a timely manner” and that the two countries had made “substantial progress” on cross-border disaster information-sharing at the meeting.
At the May 27 meeting, 10 Nepali officials and about a dozen Chinese officials, including representatives from Tibet, discussed cooperation on floods, weather and glacier-related hazards, according to an agenda prepared by Nepal and reviewed by Reuters. They called for joint measures including inventories of glacial lakes and hazard mapping.
“What we actually wanted from them, and still want, is if there are early movements of glaciers and early movements around that area, we would want to know a bit early,” said Sauhardra Joshi, a hydrologist at Nepal’s Flood Forecasting Division.