933 hydropower workers missing after Nepal floods: Why nation’s power sector faces a second crisis

Nepal’s authorities said on Monday that 903 people had died and 4,247 remained missing, including 933 people from hydropower projects, Reuters reported. On the Chinese side of the border, authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 people missing in Gyirong County.

The floods began after a glacier-related event in the Himalayan region triggered a huge flow of ice, rock, mud and water. The torrent moved through river valleys along the Nepal-China border, destroying roads, bridges, buildings and power infrastructure.

For Nepal, the damage to hydropower projects creates a problem that extends beyond the immediate rescue operation. The country relies heavily on hydropower for electricity generation and has invested heavily in new projects to expand domestic supply and electricity exports.

Hundreds of hydropower workers remain missing

Rescue teams have been focusing on workers believed to be trapped inside tunnels at several hydropower projects in the flood-hit region.

Hundreds of workers were believed to remain trapped inside about half a dozen hydropower project tunnels, Reuters reported. Nepal’s disaster management authority put the number of people missing from hydropower projects at 933.

The Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Rasuwa district is among the worst-hit sites. More than 100 people were thought to be missing there as rescue teams searched for survivors, AP reported.

The tunnels have been particularly difficult to access because the flood pushed huge amounts of mud and rock into them.

“A large amount of debris has been deposited and that is posing a big challenge to open the tunnels,” Nepal Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet told Reuters. “Our main focus is on opening the tunnels,” he said.

Rescuers have used earth-moving equipment to remove mud and rocks. Soldiers have also entered large pits dug near tunnel entrances and used torchlights to search for possible survivors.

The scale of the obstruction has made the operation slow, with some tunnels containing several feet of mud and debris. Heavy rain and difficult terrain have further complicated the rescue effort.

Nepal has also sought specialised assistance from its neighbours. While the country had earlier indicated that it did not need general foreign search-and-rescue assistance, it accepted support from India and China for tunnel rescue operations. Chinese and Indian experts helped Nepali teams work through the night to reach people believed to be trapped inside hydropower tunnels, Reuters reported.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah described the flood as an “unprecedented and devastating natural disaster” and said authorities were still facing difficulties in compiling a complete assessment of the damage.

“Despite the adverse weather, difficult terrain and continuing risks, we are moving forward with determination to save the lives of our citizens,” Shah said in a Facebook post. Nearly 21,000 security personnel have taken part in rescue operations, alongside civilian workers and volunteers, he said.

How badly could Nepal’s power sector be hit?

The flood struck an area with several hydropower developments because major rivers in Nepal originate in the Himalayan region. Reuters reported that the disaster affected hydropower projects and knocked out more than 10% of Nepal’s power-generation capacity, according to an assessment by the Stimson Center.

That creates a significant challenge for a country that has built much of its energy strategy around hydropower.

Water and debris can damage turbines, powerhouses, transmission infrastructure, roads and construction equipment. Blocked tunnel entrances can prevent workers from reaching project sites, while damaged transmission lines can stop electricity from reaching the grid even when generating equipment remains intact.

The destruction of transport infrastructure compounds the problem. The flood damaged 19 bridges and around 40 km of highway, Reuters reported.

For hydropower projects, those links are essential for transporting machinery, fuel, construction materials and other supplies. Damage to roads and bridges can therefore delay both rescue operations and eventual repair work.

The impact is particularly significant because Nepal’s hydropower expansion has increasingly moved into remote areas where rivers provide favourable conditions for power generation. Those same locations can be exposed to landslides, floods and glacier-related hazards.

The torrent travelled about 168 km downstream from the Nepal-China border, Reuters reported. A Nepali government assessment estimated that around 57.4 million cubic metres of water moved through the area – more than half again the normal volume, as reported by Reuters.

That surge carried rocks, mud and other debris into settlements and infrastructure, including hydropower facilities.

Could another flood disrupt rescue operations?

The rescue effort itself has been complicated by the risk of further flooding and unstable terrain.

Authorities have been monitoring lakes and landslide zones that formed after the original disaster. Rescue operations were suspended several times because of bad weather and fears that a lake created across the Nepal-China border could trigger additional flooding, Reuters reported.

That makes work around damaged hydropower facilities particularly dangerous. Rescue teams cannot simply enter blocked tunnels or construction sites without assessing the risk of another landslide or flood.

Nepal and China had discussed stronger cooperation on glacier and flood risks at a meeting in Kathmandu on May 27, Reuters reported. Nepali officials wanted more information on glacier movements, water levels, avalanches and landslides, as well as more frequent data sharing.

China’s embassy in Nepal said the two countries had made “substantial progress” on cross-border disaster information sharing and that Chinese teams had shared important information with Nepal “in a timely manner”.

For hydropower projects located downstream from glaciers and glacial lakes, earlier warnings could provide critical time to evacuate workers and secure equipment.

Sauhardra Joshi, a hydrologist at Nepal’s Flood Forecasting Division who attended the May meeting, told Reuters that Nepal wanted earlier information about glacier movements. “What we actually wanted from them, and still want, is if there are early movements of glaciers and early movements around that area, we would want to know a bit early,” Joshi said.

Nepal’s hydrologist Binod Parajuli told Reuters that China had provided forecasts of heavy precipitation but not the same level of information on avalanches, water levels and other extreme events.

Nepal now plans to seek a more detailed data-sharing arrangement with China. Parajuli said Nepal wants data every 10 minutes so “we can warn our people, save our people”, as reported by Reuters.

Why are glacier risks becoming a bigger concern?

According to preliminary assessments cited by Reuters, a section of glacier broke away and crashed into the valley below, triggering a flash flood carrying ice, rock and mud into the river system.

The event is particularly significant for Nepal’s hydropower industry because many projects are located along river valleys downstream from glaciers and glacial lakes.

A 2023 study by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development found that glacier melt has accelerated as snow cover declines and snowfall patterns become more erratic. The organisation has warned that these changes can increase the risks associated with floods and landslides.

The latest disaster shows how quickly a glacier-related event can move beyond an environmental problem and become an infrastructure and economic crisis.

A single extreme event can simultaneously threaten workers, damage power projects, destroy access roads and bridges, disrupt electricity generation and increase the cost of reconstruction.