Nepal’s army has finished draining glacial lake Imja, located near Mount Everest, to a safe level since it was in danger of flooding bridges, hiking trails, and nearby residential areas.
The lake, originally 149 meters (489 feet) deep, was lowered by 3.4 meters (11 feet), BBC News reported.
Nepal’s army said it took six months to create an outlet to release the water. Then, nearly 4 million cubic meters of water was released over the course of two months.
"It was a pilot project that we completed without any unfortunate incident and now this model will be replicated to reduce risks in other glacial lakes as well," said Top Khatri, the project’s manager with the department of hydrology and meteorology, the BBC reported.
Imja, along with the other lakes located in the Himalayas, are believed to be filling up quickly because of the melting of glaciers in the midst of a global temperature rise, the BBC noted.
Additionally, a 2015 earthquake in Nepal may have contributed to the extreme water levels.
Some feel that in addition to Lake Imja, there are many other lakes that need attention due to the level of danger they pose.
“We live in fear that we might be surprisingly hit by floods from glacial lakes that are becoming dangerous but have not received any attention,” said Nimji Sherpa, a leader in Thamo village, the BBC reported.
However, Khatri said Imja was at such a high risk of flooding that it was at the top of the government’s list of priorities.
“We have successfully mitigated a disaster right now,” Khatri told AFP, according to News18.
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