The deadly floods that have devastated parts of Nepal can be tracked all the way to the Himalayas where a "massive geophysical event" set off a chain reaction Wednesday, a geophysicist who studies such events told ABC News.
A landslide in the mountain pass took place during the day that took away a large glacier or parts of a glacier in the Himalayas, Göran Ekström, at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University told ABC News. The event was so powerful, it caused an energy equivalent of a 5.2 earthquake that was registered on seismographs around the globe.
These types of events have happened in the Himalayas before, but this was a "massive geophysical event," according to Ekström.
When rocks come down a mountain it generates a lot of energy and warms up, melting the glacier, which may be the cause as to why so much water fell on at the bottom of the mountain, according to the professor.
The ice, debris and water came down into the valley, and Ekström estimated that the flood waters were "outrageously high," possibly 130-160 feet high and that the water may have moved as fast as 44 miles per hour.
Climate change is accelerating the melting of ice and glaciers around the globe, according to the professor. Events like this would happen without climate change, but it is possible climate change enhances events like this, Ekström said.
"In general, these landslides in these mountainous regions are becoming more frequent, that has been determined, and that is linked to the melting of glaciers," he said.
At least 157 people have been killed and 75 others wounded in the floods as of Wednesday evening, according to local authorities.
A total of 384 people, including 291 foreigners and 93 Nepalis, have gone missing from the affected area as of Wednesday evening, according to the Nepal Tourism Board.
Of the missing, there are at least 47 American tourists, the board said.