Thousands at risk after multi-million dollar Everest flood warning system left to rust

An early flood warning system designed to save the lives of thousands of people in the Everest region may no longer be working, Nepalese officials have admitted to the BBC, after it was allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. The disclosure came after villagers in the local Sherpa communities told the BBC no inspection of the UN-supported projec...

An early flood warning system designed to save the lives of thousands of people in the Everest region may no longer be working, Nepalese officials have admitted to the BBC, after it was allowed to fall into a state of disrepair.

The disclosure came after villagers in the local Sherpa communities told the BBC no inspection of the UN-supported project had been carried out for many years after the dangerous Imja glacial lake was last drained in 2016.

Since then, no maintenance has been undertaken, which means siren towers have been left to rust, while some have even had their batteries stolen, according to locals.

On top of this, the satellite data reception transmitting the lake's water level - which can then be used to send out mobile phone alerts to locals - has been unreliable, officials at Nepal's department of hydrology and meteorology (DHM) told the BBC.