POKHARA, Nov 12: A group of Nepali and American experts say the flash flood on Seti River in May this year was caused by an avalance in the upper course of the river and such floods was possible in the future too.
The flash flood on Seti River occurred in May 5 and killed over 70 people and swept away two villages mainly in Kaski district.
According to the report prepared by a joint team of researchers from NASA and Nepal´s Department of Mines and Geology, a large amount of water was blocked at the source of the river by rocks and debris which was brought by an avalanche to create a dam. The blockade was then hit by another avalanche resulting in the massive flood in Seti River.
The investigation team has further warned such flash flood may repeat in the future as the geographical structure of the region was very weak. Making their findings public on Sunday in Pokhara, Geologist Dr Dhananjaya Regmi claimed that satellite photos and on-site investigations had proved that the incident was due to avalanche.
Recommending introduction of a new system of forecasting flood in the Seti, the report stated that the locals of the settlement along the Seti River should be vigilant to save themselves from future floods.
According to the report, an avalanche toward the end of April had blocked water source of the Seti to cause a huge amount of the water to accumulate before the blockage was blown by another avalanche on May 5.
The investigating team including geologists Dr Regmi of Himalayan Resort Expedition, Dr Lalu Poudel, Khagendra Poudel and Senior Researcher of NASA and professor of University of Arizona Jeffrey Kargel, had conducted the research between November 1 to 8.
The team claimed it had reached as high as 4,500 meter to find the main cause behind the flood. No other investigating team had reached beyond the 3500 meter height before.
PLEASE DESIST FROM ATTACKING THE WRITER PERSONALLY AND BE RESPECTFUL TO OTHER READERS.
Please give your full name while posting your comments. This is not to stifle the free flow of comments but your full name will enable us to print the comments in our newspaper.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
Copyright © Nepal Republic Media Pvt. Ltd. 2008-10.