Crisis in the Himalayas

The flash flood disaster last month in India demonstrated the risks to eight countries in the region arising from a deadly combination of factors – climate change, unsustainable development and geopolitical fights over rivers

Border Roads Organisation workers clear debris near the Raini bridge in Chamoli district, on Feb 9, 2021.

Tending to his fields one crisp winter morning, Chandra Singh Rana saw what looked like smoke emerging from the wooded slopes and snow-capped peaks that led to Nanda Devi, one of the world's tallest mountains.

The accompanying roar sent the 77-year-old, his grandson and fellow residents of Reni, a village nestled up in the Indian Himalayas, scrambling for higher ground. A rockslide in the nearby mountains triggered a tsunami of water, stones and mud that hurtled through the steep river valley dividing the village, consuming those unable to escape.

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