Rescue personnel transport stranded residents using a bulldozer after flash floods in the Devighat area in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026.
NEW DELHI: The sudden floods that struck the China-Nepal border on Wednesday have left experts grappling with both the scale of devastation and its origins, according to reports.
Nepal Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told the Parliament on Wednesday that an earthquake struck at 8.37 a.m. local time, and the flash flood was reported three minutes later, adding: "We, however, need to verify this", The Kathmandu Post reported.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), a magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck the Tibetan territory at that time, it added. It was a plausible theory, given the region’s vulnerability to tectonic shifts.
But as more data emerged, the story began to change.
