Geography · 28 Aug 2026

Bhote Koshi Gandak transboundary flood

Consider the following statements regarding the recent flash floods in Nepal's Rasuwa district:

  1. The Bhote Koshi river originates in Tibet and, after flowing through Nepal, enters India as the Gandak river.
  2. ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) is headquartered in Kathmandu.
  3. The flash flood was primarily triggered by an unusually intense spell of monsoon rainfall over the Bhote Koshi basin.
A1 only
B2 only
C1 and 2 only
D1, 2 and 3
This question is based on: The Valley That Keeps Flooding Without Rain
Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 28 Aug 2026
About this question

Why in news

An earthquake-triggered ice-rock avalanche caused a debris flood down the Bhote Koshi-Trishuli system on August 26, 2026, killing at least 157 people, with over 400 missing including many Indian pilgrims.

Why for UPSC

UPSC frequently tests river courses across international boundaries and the distinction between genuine hazard mechanisms versus assumed causes - exactly the kind of conceptual trap tested here.

Prelims summary

The Bhote Koshi-Trishuli-Gandak is a single transboundary river chain from Tibet through Nepal into India. The 2026 Nepal floods were a seismic-glacial cascading hazard (earthquake-avalanche-dam breach), not a rainfall-driven flood - a pattern that recurred in 2016 and 2025 too.

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