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Rescue operations for survivors are underway at a massive flood damage site in Nuwakot, Nepal, on the 27th (local time). / Xinhua, Yonhap

Reeling from catastrophic floods, Nepal plans to rebuild landslide early warning systems along its border with China to prevent further disasters, Reuters reported on the 2nd (local time), citing two Nepali government officials.

The Nepali government is installing early warning equipment, including cameras, seismic sensors, and Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT), in Timure in the Rasuwa district. Bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the Himalayan mountains, Timure suffered massive devastation from a glacial collapse last week.

The centerpiece of this rebuilding effort is the VSAT equipment. Designed to maintain continuous monitoring even when communications networks are severed by flooding, VSAT enables authorities to issue alerts promptly.

An early warning system previously existed, but communications were severed in practice after at least four hydrological monitoring stations were destroyed. A source explained, "While sensors and stations were present, they were not monitored properly, and the floods swept them all away."

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) of Nepal has already completed on-site helicopter surveys to determine installation locations and plans to deploy cameras, sensors, and VSAT units.

While the early warning equipment is currently being installed solely in Timure, authorities plan to expand installations gradually to other border areas.

Nepal is also cooperating with China. Beijing announced that it has shared satellite imagery, hydrological data, and early warning information on glacial lakes in affected areas with Nepal. Katmandu had requested real-time data sharing from Beijing even before the latest disaster, and Nepali authorities plan to deepen cooperation with China in the wake of the crisis.

As of that day, the death toll in Nepal from the massive floods tallied by the NDRRMA rose to at least 1,204. With deaths in China also increasing to 21, the combined death toll reached 1,225. Missing persons grew to a total of 4,757, comprising 4,216 in Nepal and 541 in China.

                                                                                                           Park Jin-sook