Satellite images reveal scale of flood devastation in Nepal villages

What the report says

BBC Verify has used fresh satellite imagery to map the destruction caused by a deadly flash flood along Nepal’s Trishuli River after a glacier collapse. The before-and-after images show villages, bridges and hydroelectric facilities damaged or swept away, including a key Nepal-Tibet border crossing that was engulfed by floodwater. The reporting says Nepalese officials have put the death toll at more than 550, with hundreds still missing.

The imagery reviewed by BBC Verify highlights several badly affected places downstream. Timure, a village near the border, appears to have largely disappeared under mud and debris. Farther south at Syapru Besi, satellite pictures show roads, homes, bridges and a power station buried or destroyed. In Trishuli, about 45km from the border, an entire neighbourhood appears to have been washed away. The article also refers to verified video showing a bridge collapse and people trying to escape as the river surged.

BBC Verify says additional satellite data from Planet Labs shows the origin point near the collapsed glacier, where a wide scar of rock and debris marks the flood’s path. The images also show a barrier lake forming below the landslide, which Chinese authorities have warned could pose a further flood risk and complicate rescue operations. A glaciologist quoted by BBC Verify said the lake did not appear to be growing rapidly, but its stability could not be determined from images alone.

The report notes that the Tibetan side of the border remains difficult to assess because access is heavily restricted. The satellite data, published through an open-data program, is being used to help officials identify where to focus search, rescue and recovery efforts.