Everest sherpas fear displacement after village devastated by glacial lake outburst

Sherpa living in Nepal’s Everest region were left worrying about their future after one of their villages was devastated last week by a powerful flood triggered by a glacial lake outburst.

Floodwaters swept through the serene Sherpa village of Thame, located at an altitude of around 3,800m, displacing about 60 residents and destroying over a dozen houses, several hotels, a school, and a health centre.

The flood changed the course of the Thame river, moving it right through the village and claiming half its land. It also covered much of the fertile farmland with mud and debris.

The disaster sparked fears about the safety and future of the Sherpa village.

“Much of the remaining land now is full of debris and boulders,” Yangji Doma Sherpa, a villager, told the BBC. “This isn’t like rebuilding the houses destroyed by the quake. When you have no land left, what can you build on?”

In spite of the extensive damage to land and property, no deaths or injuries were reported. The flood arrived during the day, allowing the villagers to flee in time.

“If this had happened at night, 200 to 300 people would have lost their lives,” Ang Tshering Sherpa, a former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, told the British broadcaster.

Sherpas are exceptional climbers and many work as guides and porters for mountaineers on Mount Everest.

The flood disrupted essential services. It damaged the only hydel station serving the region, causing a power outage that cut off communication with the outside world.

The flood was caused by a glacial lake outburst, which is when its dam collapses and a massive surge of water flows out.

The glacial lakes responsible for this disaster were small and unmonitored, raising concerns about the lack of monitoring of such potential dangers.

Thousands of glaciers and glacial lakes in the Himalayas are poorly monitored, with very few having early flood warning systems. The gap in monitoring is particularly concerning given the accelerated melting of glaciers due to the climate crisis.

A 2021 study led by the University of Leeds found that Himalayan glaciers were losing ice 10 times faster than in previous centuries. Additionally, new lakes were forming, and existing ones expanding, increasing the risk of outbursts.

Nepalese authorities and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development were investigating the remaining glacial lakes in the region to assess their risk and develop strategies to prevent future disasters.

The lack of disaster preparedness in many villages adds to the vulnerability. While some downstream villages had received training on how to respond to floods, Thame hadn’t.

Anil Pokhrel, head of Nepal’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said they were forming an expert team to study the risks posed by the remaining glacial lakes in the area and evaluate the safety of downstream settlements.

But local communities were wary of promises that might not be realised.

“We hear all big plans, especially during conferences, and soon the plans are forgotten,” Doma Sherpa told the BBC. “But we can’t forget about what this flood has done - and that there are other lakes lurking up there that can unleash disasters on us anytime.”