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Rasuwa District

26 August 2026: a glacier collapse in Tibet became a debris flow and flash flood that crossed the border into Nepal.

How this page works

Six sections are filled in: the parts that are stable and factual. Four are yours — evidence, perspectives, evaluation and the current connection. Those four are where the marks are, and they are deliberately empty. A case study only counts once you have completed them.

↧ Download the Rasuwa District template Word · ready to fill in · the six given sections already completed
Before you write about this one

This case is still developing. Anything you write now will need updating.

§ 01

The ten-part record

01 · Location Filled in for you

Nepal / Gyirong County, Tibet
28.2°N 85.3°E · scale: Local to regional

See this case in context on the case study map.

02 · Geographic context Filled in for you

A steep Himalayan valley on the Nepal–China border, carrying a river, a highway, hydropower infrastructure and a major trade and pilgrimage crossing. Settlements sit on the valley floor because that is the only flat ground.

03 · Processes Filled in for you

What is changing here, and the mechanisms driving it.

  • Glacial retreat and slope destabilisation at altitude
  • Ice and rock avalanche, then debris flow
  • Temporary natural damming and dam failure
  • Downstream flood propagation across an international border
04 · Evidence You build this

Find these, and write the year beside every figure. A statistic without a date is not evidence.

  • Death and missing figures — and the date you recorded them
  • Height and speed of the surge on the Trishuli
  • Length of road and number of bridges lost
  • Generating capacity of the damaged hydropower schemes
  • Rate of ice loss across the Hindu Kush Himalaya
Your figures go here
05 · Stakeholders Filled in for you

Who is affected, and separately, who holds the decision-making power.

  • Valley residents in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading
  • Nepali army, police and disaster authorities
  • Chinese authorities at Gyirong Port
  • Hydropower operators and their investors
  • Foreign trekkers and pilgrims, and their governments

Named above as a starting list. For each one, add what they actually want, and note where two of them want incompatible things.

06 · Perspectives You build this

Find two sources that disagree about this case — not two summaries of the same view. Record who each is, what they claim, and what interest they have. A perspective without a holder is not a perspective.

Your notes go here
07 · Concepts Filled in for you

Which of the six apply here, and what each one reveals.

  • Process. A chain, not a single event. Each stage amplified the next.
  • Scale. A local collapse producing regional consequences within an hour.
  • Power. Two states, two rescue operations, one river.
08 · Evaluation You build this

How significant is this? How effective was any response? What are the limitations of your evidence? What else could explain the pattern? Reach a judgement and defend it.

Your notes go here
09 · Current connection You build this

One dated development from the last twelve months. Does it strengthen, weaken or complicate the case as recorded above? Update this every time you revisit the case.

Your notes go here
10 · Exam use Filled in for you

Hazard cascades, cryosphere change, vulnerability, and the honest limits of climate attribution.

Now go and build the other four

Reading this page is not the same as having a case study. Take the template, find the evidence, and fill in sections 4, 6, 8 and 9 in your own words.

↧ Download the template Or take the blank version for a case of your own
§ 02

Where to look

Start here. Prefer the organisation that produced the data over anyone summarising it.

  • Geography in the News — the full story
    On this site: the event chain, the shifting figures, and four annotated sources.
  • ICIMOD icimod.org
    The regional centre for Hindu Kush Himalaya research. Best source for glacier loss data.
  • UN OCHA ReliefWeb reliefweb.int
    Situation reports as the response develops. Figures are dated, which is what you need.

Links checked 27 August 2026 · external links open in a new tab

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