Avalanche
on Mount Manaslu in Nepal
On Sunday September 23, 2012 around 5:00 a.m. an avalanche on the mountain of Manaslu located in Kathmandu, Nepal killed at least 8 people. Three people are still missing and many others are injured. The avalanche struck two camping areas for mountaineers taking out 25 tents in one area and another 12 tents. The mountain is 26,780 feet high and the two camps it hit were at 21,650 feet and 1,640 below. The avalanche was caused by a piece of ice, the size of 6 or 7 footballs fields, that fell from a glacier above them. Avalanches like these are known as objective hazards - a risk that cannot be controlled and one that climbers must accept. Climbing season in the fall is more popular due to monsoon season covering the mountains in a lot of snow. Nepal has 14 of the highest peaks in the world which makes tourism for this popular sport bring in a lot of money for the country’s economy. In the recent years the mountains have become somewhat crowded and more deaths are taking place due to amateur climbers and cheap climbing gear. This incident was not connected to the number of climbers on the mountain but due to the amount of snowfall and the temperature of the ground. This natural hazard turned into a disaster due to the climbers present on the mountain at the time of the incident.
This is an image of rescuers and climbers preparing survivors for evacuation for the debris field of the avalanche.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/24/world/asia/nepal-avalanche/index.html?hpt=wo_bn4
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/24/world/asia/nepal-mountains-crowding/index.html
Image Sources: http://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/16/161/nepal-avalanche-brown-092412_lead_media_image_1.jpg
http://www.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/NepalAvalanche_AP.jpg
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