Floods caused by glacier collapse in Nepal: search and rescue operations continue, but there are significant differences in information disclosure between China and Nepal

Nepalese rescuers said on Wednesday (September 9) that they were still holding out hope of finding survivors trapped in hydropower station tunnels two weeks after deadly floods caused by a glacier collapse.

The tsunami-like mudslide that started on the China-Nepal border on August 26 has killed at least 1,401 people and left 5,845 people missing.

Among the missing are hundreds of foreigners and hundreds of hydropower station workers.

Nepalese military spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP that search and rescue operations were still ongoing in the Trishuli 3A, 3B and Chilime hydropower project tunnels.

Nepalese search and rescue personnel recently rescued a total of four people, including a Chinese citizen, two plumbers and a woman.

The Nepalese government continues to update disaster and casualty statistics on a daily basis, and publishes information on missing persons, including foreign citizens.

In contrast, updates from China have been slow. The official Xinhua News Agency updated information on September 6 that 43 people died and 519 people were missing.

According to AFP, foreign media reporters are unable to travel freely to the Tibet Autonomous Region. They can only travel to the area on strictly controlled media tours organized by the authorities.

Chinese police last week punished 10 netizens for allegedly spreading "false information" about the landslide disaster on the China-Nepal border. State media reporters and online bloggers were warned to strictly adhere to the official narrative.

The Chinese government has tried to focus public attention on government rescue operations and minimize coverage of the victims.

The British "Economist" stated that this is in sharp contrast to reports when a major earthquake occurred in southwest China in 2008. At the time, the Internet was abuzz with outrage over the poor quality of the school's construction. Journalists also wrote many touching reports, recording how families were destroyed by disasters.

Despite this, on Chinese social media, many individuals and families still pray and ask for help in obscure ways, such as posting unanswered text messages and old family photos, calling for their loved ones to come home.

The exact cause of this glacier collapse is unclear, but climate change is accelerating the loss of glaciers around the world and increasing the risk of such disasters.

Nepalese officials said the post-disaster reconstruction costs could reach billions of dollars. Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal previously stated that Nepal is a victim of global warming and climate change. He pointed out that the world's largest carbon emitter is China, followed by the United States and third by India. "These countries have historical responsibilities and should compensate fragile countries like Nepal."