C a s e

H i s t o r i e s

Unfortunately,theDepartmentofMeteorologyfailedtorescued.The lodge and anotherunoccupied house hap-
forecast the trajectory of the storm orits intensity and didpenedtobeintherunoutzoneoftwoavalanchesthat
notissueanyspecialwarningsinside Nepal.However,descendedabout 300 m and800 m in isolated narrowtracks
boththeBBCand CNNwere broadcasting special bulle-before joining just above Pangkha (Yamada, et al.,1996).
tinsaboutthedevelopingcyclone.TheDepartment'sAbout 50 cm of snow fell after this avalanche occurred.In
weather stations at higher elevations apparently were notfareasternNepal nearthe basecamp forKanchenjunga,
functional at the time of the storm and have not providedfourNepalisandthreeJapaneseperishedinanother
anystormdata.AspokesmanfortheDepartmentwasavalanche. Official governmentcounts attributed33 deaths
quotedassaying,"Obviously,thingshave gottentotallyto avalanches and about 30otherdeaths to storm-related
out of hand"(KathmanduPost, November 17 andTheNepalcauses.TheTrekking Workers' Association of Nepal claims
Digest).that manyadditionalporters perished(Limbu, 1995).Many
Some indications of precipitation amountswere com-other cases of partial burial by avalanchesand near-misses
piled from news stories, trekker's accounts, andinterviewswere reported by the news media.Two houses are known
with residents. In theHinku Valleysouth of Khumbu, snowtohavebeen damaged byavalanches inDingboche, and
began falling mid-morning on November9 andcontinuedheavy snow loads collapsed several roofs,including one
until late on November10 -- about 36hours.In the ImjaofthebuildingsoftheKhumjungschool.Atleast100
Valleyin the heart of Khumbu, snowfalldid not begin untilanimals were lost by burial in the deep snows.
the afternoon of the 10th.Rainfall at lower-elevation sta-Given the potentialfor catastrophefrom such anintense
tions in east Nepal was 8 to 30 times greater than averagestorm,casualtiescouldbeconsideredremarkablylow.
rainfallfortheentiremonthofNovember(NewsfromFortunately,the stormcoincidedwiththeManiRimdu
Nepal,Dec. 1995).Rainfall forNovember9 and 10 at twofestival at the Tengbochemonastery, whichattractedmore
of the closest reporting stations,Dhankutaand Taplejung,than 1,000 trekkers andtheir support staffs to the relatively
was 220 mm and 150 mm, respectively.Estimates of stormlowelevationofTengboche(3,900m)wheresnow
precipitation attwositesintheKhumbuarea were120accumulationwas not excessive.If the storm hadoccurred
mm at Syangboche(3,800 m) and 160 mm at Pangkha(4,500a few days before orafterthe festival,hundreds of addi-
m)(Yamada,etal.,1996).Duringthestorm,airtionalpeoplewould havebeen athigher elevationsand
temperaturesvaried between0and-3^oCatSyangbocheexposed to the avalanche hazard.
(3,800 m) and Khumbu Glacier (5,000 m).Only rain was
observed below 3,500 m.
Thedepositionofsnowwashighlyunusualforthe^{RESCUE EFFORTS}
Khumbu area with the greatest precipitationin the higher-^{Most people strandedby the storm waited for the snow to}
elevation valleys,generally considered to be subject to a^{settlebeforeattemptedtomoveorlaboriouslystruggled}
rain-shadow influence.A mixture of rain and snow was^{towards lower altitudes.The first news of the avalanches}
observed at the Tengboche monastery (3,900 m) where the^{anddeep snowreached Kathmandu onthe afternoon of}
maximumsnowdepthdidnotexceed0.5m.Snowin^{November11.A rescue mission began to formas a joint}
Dingboche (4,300m)briefly rose above the tops of some^{effort among the police, army, Himalayan Rescue Associa-}
windows, 1.5 to 2 m.Similar depthswere reportedinGorak^{tion,Nepal Mountaineering Association,trekking compa-}
Shep (5,200 m,near Everest base camp) and in the Gokyo^{nies,MinistryofTourism,andairlineswithhelicopters}
Valley above 5,000 m.Reports ofmaximum snow depth^{available.The first helicopters arrived in Khumbu on the}
intheHinkuValley were alsoupto2m.Snowinthe^{morning of November12 and began relaying people from}
western valley of the Khumbu region was upto 1.5 m deep^{high-elevation villages and mountaineering camps to the}
in the village of Thame, where no one walked in or out for^{snow line.A few people were transported to Kathmandu}
8 days.Movement was extremely difficult throughout the^{formedicalattention.The officialcountstates that300}
higherelevationsinthefirstdaysfollowingthestorm.^{Nepalisand250foreignerswererescuedbyhelicopter}
Several hourswere required tobreak trailofeven a few^{betweenNovember 12 and 16 (News from Nepal, December}
hundred meters.Because deep snow is almost unknown^{1995).This effort was the largest rescuemission in Nepal's}
in the area, skis or snowshoes are not kept in local homes.^{historyandwas aided bythe recent availabilityoflarge}
Settling of the storm's snow coverwas rapid,and depths^{Russian helicopters in commercial service.}
had declinedto 1.2 m in Gorak Shep(5,200 m) and 0.6 m
in Periche(4,250 m) by November 14 (Yamada, etal., 1996).^{SUBSEQUENT STORMS}
Two additionalstormsin late Novemberdeposited more
AVALANCHES AND CASUALTIES^{than 30 cmof snow in some parts ofthe upperKhumbu}
The deep and intense snowfall on steep terrain obviously^{region, resultingin an unusually deep winter snow cover.}
resultedin widespreadinstability, andavalanchesreleased^{Strong radiative cooling and low temperatures during the}
throughout the Khumbu.Most ofthe slides occurred on^{winter resultedin metamorphism to kinetic-growth forms.}
November10 and 11,during and shortly afterthe storm.^{By March 1996,some of the snow covernear Thame and}
The worst tragedy occurred in the village of Pangkha,in^{Dingbocheconsisted of about 50 cm of depth hoar, overlain}
the Gokyo valley, where onetrekkers' lodge was destroyed.^{by a wet layerofmelt-freeze clusters.A significant wet-}
Thelodgewasoccupiedby13Japaneseand12Nepali^{snowavalanche cyclewasevident onmanyslopesthat}
guides and porters when the avalanche struck.All occu-^{still held residual snow from November.}
pantswerekilledexcept a17-year-oldkitchenboywho^{Other storms and tragic events in 1996 may suggest that}
survived burial in the wreckage for 40 hours before being^{severe weather was more common in the past year.Some}

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