Kathmandu, Feb. 8 -- The devastatingcollapse of the Nanda Devi glacierin India's Uttarakhand state on 7 February that killed hundreds should be a warning for Nepal to be prepared for similar disasters in future.

APlanetLabsimage seems to confirm that a rock-ice slope detached completely from near the summit of the 7,816m high peak in the Garhwal Himalaya near Nepal's western border, crashed on to the glacier below, and bulldozed the ice and debris into the Dhauliganga and the Alkananda Rivers.

There are tell-tale signs of new brown dust on the western side of the valley in satellite images. The ice melted as it reached a warmer, lower altitude and unleashed the flood that raced downstream. Two hydroelectric projects on the rivers were c...