A massive flash flood killed at least nine people on Wednesday in the Himalayan border areas of Nepal and adjoining Tibet, washing away villages, damaging roads, bridges and power projects, with authorities fearing more casualties. Here are some of the biggest disasters in the Himalayas over the last dozen years, which some analysts have blamed on climate change and widespread development.
AUGUST 2025 Four die, with dozens missing, in sudden flooding and landslides in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.
SEPTEMBER 2024 At least 66 killed in Nepal as persistent downpours triggered flooding and landslides.
NOVEMBER 2023 A cave-in trapped 41 in a road tunnel being built in Uttarakhand. The men, low-wage workers from some of India’s poorest states, were rescued 17 days later. Authorities gave no reason for the collapse.
OCTOBER 2023 Torrential rain triggered a glacial lake outburst causing devastating floods in India’s northeastern state of Sikkim, killing 179.
JANUARY 2023 Nearly 200 were evacuated from homes in the Indian town of Joshimath after cracks developed in hundreds of buildings, later demolished as unsafe structures.
Geologists, residents, and officials blamed rapid construction for weakening the buildings and the land beneath. OCTOBER 2021
Unseasonal heavy rain flooded roads and washed away bridges in Uttarakhand, killing at least 46. FEBRUARY 2021
More than 200 were killed as a flash flood in Uttarakhand swept away two hydroelectric projects and sent water, rocks, and debris surging down the Dhauliganga river valley. SEPTEMBER 2014
The Kashmir region suffered its worst flooding in 50 years as the Jhelum river, which flows from India to Pakistan, surged in unusually heavy rain, killing about 200 Indians and 264 Pakistanis. (Compiled by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by YP Rajesh and Clarence Fernandez)
