The Panjshir Flood in Afghanistan

Experts working within the SERVIR Hindu Kush Himalaya (SERVIR-HKH) Initiative at ICIMOD investigated the 2018 Panjshir flood using remotely sensed imagery in response to a special request from the Department of Water Resources (WRD), Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) in Afghanistan. They tracked the course of the flood to a glacial lake upstream using a combination of freely available satellite imagery for the days leading up to and after the event. A joint field mission comprising WRD and ICIMOD staff also visited the affected area and conducted a field assessment of the glacial lake. The team deduced that a breach in the natural moraine next to the glacial lake triggered the flash flood and identified it as a glacial lake outburst flood event. Findings from the investigation have been made available as a story map for the general public.