By Yoichi Clark Shimatsu
9-11-26

Nepal as one of the friendliest destinations for foreign tourists, trekkers and journalists has been stunned and mortified by a disastrous flood that swept through its central river system, resulting in the drowning deaths of up to 5,000 missing and some 2,000 bodies of drowning victims as the grim search continues through central Nepal. The deaths include those of local Nepalese farmers and town-dwellers, foreign tourists, trekkers and Chinese workers at a dam-building project. At a time when summer turns to autumn, the search for decomposing bodies of flood victims is going slowly due to riverine mud, deep forests and loss of roads in the rugged countryside west of the nation’s capital Kathmandu.

Earlier in the journalism career of this roving writer I visited Nepal dozens of times, often riding across the Himalayas on horseback or trekking with backpack with a Nepalese writer in pursuit of drug-smuggling outlaws connected with the CIA, violations of international laws by foreign diplomats, and most grievously tracking the actual cause of the murders of the Royal Family (falsely blamed on the young prince, who was a bold advocate of Nepalese opposition to sinister aggression from corrupt politicians in India). More than a decade after those adventures, this writer is compelled to respond to the chaotic and usually uninformed reportage from the international news media. This account connects the many sites along the flood path from south-central Tibet to the border crossing into Nepal and along the central waterway to the exit point near the tiger reserve on the border with northern India.

Gateway between Nepal and China-Tibet

The choke-point of the Gyirong border crossing – directly on the path of the fast-flowing killer flood bursting out of the Tibet border region – saw the the first flood deaths inside Nepal, which included Chinese visitors at the entry tunnel. Immediately before the fierce and fast wave descended a nearby mountain on the Tibetan side, there were casualties along the roadway arriving from the town of Gyirong, the Chinese provincial center near the southern border. The border crossing is located alongside the rivulet of the same name which trickles slowly and seeming happily on most days. The force and scale of the sudden flood rushed down the Chinese road to burst with full fury into the tall oversized two-story structure, drowning Chinese and Tibetan waiting in line to enter Nepal. A surveillance camera on the Nepal side caught the fearsome wave as young Chinese men ran for their lives under the tall waves. The normally narrow creek was transformed into a raging river rushing downhill to vulnerable farm communities and trading posts downhill and around the westward bend.

The Gyirong border post is quite familiar to this journalist who has waited there on the Nepalese side to pick up Chinese news reporters and college students at that China-Nepal border post as a guide and host of their adventures in Kathmandu and along the Everest trail. Having earlier served as the first foreign journalism professor in China - at Tsinghua University in Beijing - I kept in contact with former students, professors and news reporters from China’s capital Beijing along with Shanghai and Hong Kong. For most of those young people, it was their first foreign visit made possible by the absence of protocol pressures and sheer professional envy associated with being a working journalist in the “world capitals” - the USA, Europe and the UK. Luckily in those days it was not well known to the outside world that Nepal has been at the center of contention between an increasingly influential India and the western powers, especially Britain – versus China - as implied in author John Krakhauer’s “Into Thin Air” escapade along the Everest Trail.

Kathmandu a quarter-century ago was a crowded yet laid-back town with friendly young people nearly all of whom spoke English - thus a perfect starting point for journalists from abroad to engage in news reporting on foreign affairs. Since those decades much has changed in Nepal for better or worse - although the rural regions have remained essentially the same pastoral hinterlands of farming folk and water buffalo. What has changed in the countryside over the past two decades are the first giant steps toward modernization as seen - with horror - in the riverside commercial centers that became “killing fields” of the fast-rising flood.

Before going into the specifics, it should be mentioned that Nepal’s wildlife reserves along the river’s north-bend (haven of monkeys and wild birds) and the southern borderland (home ground of the Asian tiger) have not reported any mass kills of wildlife or their caretakers - which is good news indeed of nature prevailing without human ambition, thanks to the conservation efforts of the late Royal Family (who were murdered in an international intrigue followed by a sinister cover-up). Nepalese society has survived countless horrors and setbacks yet the population remains strong, frugal and cheerful, carrying their undeserved burdens in graceful silence. In their muddy footsteps while searching for drowned relatives, my sympathies reach out to mourn the horrific death toll. It is difficult to also look ahead to recovery, renewal and remembrance. Arrivals of foreign tourists are important for that nation’s economy, political savvy, innovation and, of course, maintaining the pristine beauty of mountain peaks, deep forests and riversides.

The Starting Point

The earliest report of an initial flood assessment came within two days after the disaster from an anonymous Chinese researcher who apparently flew aboard a helicopter over the Tibetan mountain terrain east of the provincial capital Gyirong along a flight-path northwest of Nepal’s border checkpoint. That plausible account discovered the flood’s starting point was a massif to the west (northwest of the border crossing). The flood origin was pinpointed along a lower slope of a snow-covered rather drab bald mountain without a name on the maps of a dozen world atlases that I’ve flipped through. A closer look shows the no-name colossus stretches out to the west and east with a series of rocky humps. There appear to be no trees on its slopes.

Drabness is a sight distained by tourists and mountaineers who thrive on spectacular rocks such as Yosemite’s half-dome, the splendor of the French Alps and, of course, the daunting harsh roof of the world without a trace of human sentimentality - Everest. The killer mountain is by comparison an anonymous hump along the frontline of spectacular peaks of the Tibetan Himalaya, facing off against the solitary peaks along the edge of Nepal, such as the swirling giant Manaslu. That natural border region has many rivulets streaming downhill. Along a far narrower scale the anonymous furrow seems just one of many harmless drainage ditches, is a cloud-catcher, which gathers pools of rainwater which then seeps - dribbles - downhill to the valley by the binational border-crossing. (Of minor interest, the back side of the killer massif is the location of large lakes, a tourism area for Chinese vacationers,)

According to the report of that sole visitor/researcher - since hushed up by his ranking superiors in typical bureaucratic protocol - the narrow trickle of water off snow-melt from the upper ridge flowed downhill (probably starting around early August, perhaps July) and gradually expanding the flow in early autumn.. More than halfway down the hill the slim stream penetrated a large heap of snow and eventually filled the ice cave to its melting brim. Due to the lack of an exit channel, water pressure increased on the downside of the giant snowball. As daylight-hour heat increased day-by-day, the ice-cave’s lower wall started to leak, crack and then burst open, releasing a surge of rushing water onto the lower streambed, which at lower elevation connects to a rivulet that is on the map, heading to the Nepal-Tibet/China border crossing.

The findings of the as-yet unidentified researcher does conform to the tall surge of water that slammed into the Chinese passport-check building - a tall 2-story metal structure with very wide doorways that are open during daylight hours. Undoubtedly anyone on the ground floor would have been slam-dunked by the raging wall of water. Those like myself who has a lot of experience as a swimmer in ocean waves - a rarity in China - probably had a chance of survival and indeed might even having enjoyed surfing on a mountain. Due to the cold climate there are not a lot of swimmers in the Tibetan borderland, resulting in a high death-toll. At the exit on the Nepal side, frightened young men were seen on the monitors running for their lives with crashing waves breaking behind them. It was a rush, literally.

A rather dubious counter-claim of flood origin focused on the Langtang Lirung high-mountain region north of Kathmandu and within the border of Nepal. That is to the southeast of the earlier Chinese observation. That problematic report has been basically scuttled due to the lack of earthquake readings At the time and date of flood release there were no temblors associated with seismic activity. This fact adds credence to the initial assessment flood origin not being from a quake but rather caused by a rapid flow surging flood, as described by the sole expert who landed by helicopter near the site of flood release.

In Memory of and with Thanks for the Royals

Sorry for dwelling on such tedious details, folks, but as a reporter with a sense of responsibility to the larger public, I’ve either got to hit a homer or strike out in the game of cause-and-effect. The bogus distraction was probably the first of many curve balls about to be tossed by hucksters or spooks aka intel agencies. My personal preference is to go with the science. Now to proceed after that short diversion: after rushing downhill at the border-crossing the flowing water gradually curved westward passing through forests and then a wildlife refuge - which are an inheritance from the late King and the Royal Family (who were later massacred in a foreign plot - an action that will certainly not be forgotten nor pass without payback). The western intel agencies have a knack for allowing the bad players off the hook while numbly tolerating the murderers of genuine popular heroes. Lay down with dogs, sit up with fleas, eh? As the saying goes: Chickens come home to roost.

Thanks to the late Royal Nepalese family, the forests to the west provide shelter for deer, apes and a vast array of wild birds. So remember the late King Birendra of Nepal with justice in your hearts and minds! Being from a Japanese samurai clan with more than 1,000 years lineage, I do not forgive and never forget. The assassination of a king is the gravest of offences other than the elimination of a great religious saint. So in certain cases: Never Relent. We shall not discuss at this time of loss and tragedy the underlying cause aka “the India problem”. The continuing geopolitical struggle reminds me of a sumo wrestling match in Japan – of a huge overweight brute failing to toss a small nimble wrestler out of the ring. My bet’s on Nepal.

Water Versus Drought

Along the river’s bend the government of Nepal with foreign assistance from China started an ambitious waterworks project for flood prevention and water-capture while providing needed flows of stored water during seasonal droughts - the latter measure of vital importance to farm families. The surging force of the floodwaters resulted in the deaths of 60 Chinese workmen in a terrible setback for their foreign aid program and horrifying loss for the family members back home. All that can be said at this grim moment is: The water project now has even more reason to resume its work by men with courage in memory of their predecessors with strength. And habitual critics of China should pause and mourn in respect for good deeds done by brave men regardless of their country of origin. Both the USA and Britain should have provided the financial aid and workmen to improve water-conservation and flood safety in Nepal - but neither stepped forward to get the job done. Therefore it is highly commendable and honorable that the Trump admin did provide funds for flood recovery - well done and a cheer for Americans at last!

Next, along its westward bend the waterway passes by Langtang national park, a conservation area notable for snow leopards, red pandas, blue sheep and other mountain forest species.. The thinly populated forestry region, which was the reputed home of so-called “shuetis”- monkey men - early apes with habits and mannerisms somewhat like ancient cave men. Besides those child-size apes, the hilly region is sometimes visited by a large humanoid ape that swings through the trees like Tarzan. I was in Delhi at the time of capture of the so-called “Monkey Man” in the Nepalese Himalayas, who was then smuggled into India’s capital New Delhi. Its escape from captivity threw India’s capital into a hysterical panic at the sight of the monkey-man “flying’ aka jumping from one roof to another above narrow alleyways. I tried to rush to street corners to snap a photo but the beast kept moving away from where residents were screaming and moaning. The Monkey Man was as fast as any comic book hero. Then, suddenly, the noise stopped - presumably due to its capture. Putting that big fellow into a cage seemed inhumanely cruel in my opinion since the big ape deserved a circus tent for the great show he put on to the amusement and horror of an overcrowded city. Conservationists obviously have kept a tight lid on reports of apes with human features or with better behavior than most creepy idiots at the local bar. Yes, man was made in God’s image, whereas apes fly like the angels.

Death Trap

Beyond the river’s wide curve around the town of Gurkha and then heads southward toward Betrawati, Trishuli and Tupche, towns located downstream about two-thirds of the way along the riverine passage to India. The towns aka “bazaars” were locales where a vast variety of imported and local-made goods are for sale at street-side shops. A street-camera caught the flood devastation in Trishuli of locals drenched with water that rose 20 feet above the riverbed - along with the collapse of a pedestrian steel-bridge. What press reports failed to pick up was that the concrete base and walls of the tall waterway were much too narrow to allow for overflow. Thus the hemmed-in river forced its way upwards, flooded the high roadway and tossed residents overboard to their drowning deaths. According to some grim reports out of the region, the bodies of drowning victims floated for miles down-river with countless corpses buried in mud and others smashed against rocks. Excavation of decomposing bodies from a river-pathway from central Nepal to the border of India will be a slow process for the clean-up teams..

The searchers do not need harassment or distraction, just public support. As a journalist familiar with the Nepal region sandwiched between a powerful China and a mean-spirited sectarian leadership in India, more threats and disasters are will be on their way. One of the most egregious acts of disinformation came from Delhi on just the second day of the flood disaster, claiming that a group of 400 female Hindu pilgrims heading for the Himalayan peaks - aka the abode of the Gods - died due to a freak flood along their trekking path. That was a big lie - sheer disinformation - which got the despicable Modi regime nowhere as the actual facts about the river flood became known to the world community.

Tiger, Tiger burning bright

The one bright spot is the royal tiger reserve along Nepal’s southern border with India. The pristine jungle foliage and dense forest provides wildlife with a flood barrier. It should be noted that the benevolent Royal Family sponsored the forest havens for tigers and mountain wildlife, and the loss of their highnesses under “mysterious circumstances” remains an unsolved mystery for investigators including myself - with all indicators merge along a compass needle pointing straight to Delhi. As a friend of Nepal I have not forgotten the virtues of the Royal Family and their untimely deaths due to the ambitions of an incompetent and cruel neighboring power. Justice will be served in due time.

Along with the many other friends of Nepal, I mourn the recent tragedy undeserved by a wonderful, friendly and open society. Whatever one’s beliefs may be regarding the Divine versus the profane, my prayers go out to the lost souls whose lives were filled with hope and trust of their holy land of great mountain peaks pointing up to the stars. May those good souls rest in peace and their relatives find new paths to their familial wishes and personal goals. We mourn grievously yet clutch onto new hope in our hearts for the future of the graceful and kind people of Nepal.