Nepal's flash flood: How a glacial avalanche unleashed devastation
The terrifying mechanics of the Nepali flash flood
On August 26th, a sudden surge of water swept through the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli valleys in Nepal and Tibet, leaving over 1,300 people missing. The Economist explains the terrifying mechanics behind the disaster, tracing it to a glacial avalanche and highlighting the precariousness of life where Earth's surface hovers near the melting point of water.
One of earth's peculiarities as a planet is that its surface temperatures hover near the melting point of water, meaning some parts of it are covered by that substance in its liquid form and some by it in its solid form, ice.