Why Nepal floods resulted in a disaster even after satellites spotted danger

The flash flood that struck Nepal’s Bhotekoshi valley on 26 August, triggered by a glacial collapse, has killed more than 1,000 people and has left many more missing. Satellite imagery captured the collapse and is now informing recovery operations on the ground, proving that the observational capacity already exists. The more consequential question is whether comparable signals were detectable beforehand and, if so, did they reach anyone positioned to act on them?

Nature 657, 848 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-02907-5

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