Risk of lake burst near China-Nepal border disaster site wanes<\/p>\n
Satellite images suggest that water in the lake has been slowly\nflowing through, decreasing the reservoir gradually, reported Chinese\nstate broadcaster CCTV, citing the Water Resources Ministry.<\/p>\n
BEIJING: The threat of a lake formed after a glacier collapse\nbursting near the China-Nepal border where a devastating flood occurred\nearlier this week has decreased, Chinese authorities said on Saturday\n(Aug 29), as its size appears to have shrunk.<\/p>\n
Satellite images from Thursday to Saturday morning suggest that water\nin the lake - straddling the China-Nepal border at the confluence of two\nrivers - has been slowly flowing through, decreasing the reservoir\ngradually, state broadcaster CCTV reported citing the Water Resources\nMinistry.<\/p>\n
The ministry said satellite imagery of the surface area of the lake\nat Purepu Tsangpo river showed it was 99,000 sqm in size on early\nSaturday morning - around the size of 14 football fields combined -\nhaving shrunk by 21,000 sqm compared with images from Thursday.<\/p>\n
A glacier collapse on Wednesday sending a powerful torrent of rock,\nice, mud and debris through Himalayan mountain river systems swept away\na border port complex linking China\u2019s Tibet to Nepal, killing hundreds\nand leaving thousands missing.<\/p>\n
Experts and authorities have warned of the extremely high risk of\nsecondary disasters in the valley, especially from the lake that was\nformed by glacier debris, potentially endangering rescue operations\ndownstream.<\/p>\n
State-owned engineering and rescue enterprise China Anneng, which has\nbeen monitoring the lake since Thursday, dispatched a 15-member team on\nFriday with reconnaissance drones, portable satellite stations and\nmobile surveillance cameras to gather more data about the lake.<\/p>\n
An overflow from the lake on Friday temporarily halted rescue work\nbefore further assessment deemed the risks manageable.<\/p>\n
Authorities have also flagged another larger body of water at the\nbottom of the glacier collapse.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe estimate its area to be over 120,000 square meters, but its depth\nis currently unknown,\u201d said Chen Hongqi, a senior engineer at the\nMinistry of Natural Resources\u2019 Geological Disaster Technical Guidance\nCenter.<\/p>\n
Flood risks will remain until the two lakes have fully drained, an\nofficial with Nepal\u2019s Disaster Management Authority has said.<\/p>\n
In bleak rainy weather on Saturday morning, more than 50 rescue\nworkers combed through the grey rubble of boulders and mud looking for\nsigns of life and calling out to any survivors, according to CCTV.<\/p>\n
The first team of rescuers and a search-and-rescue dog had made their\nway to the location of the Gyirong border crossing complex on Friday\nafternoon, which they described as having nothing left but ruins.<\/p>\n
Dangerous conditions at the main disaster zone, made more complex as\nroads and communication were cut off, continue to pose challenges to the\nChinese relief efforts, state news agency Xinhua said.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s death count from the disaster rose to seven early Saturday,\nwith 554 still missing.<\/p>\n
Nearly 500 villagers and construction workers, as well as all 555\ntourists from the area have been evacuated, Xinhua said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/risk-of-lake-burst-near-china-nepal-border-disaster-site-wanes-1787989838", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }