What Makes August 26 So Unusual? A Look at Nepal Floods, Major Disasters and Historic Tragedies (Image Courtesy: Open AI)
New Delhi: After the flood on Nepal-Tibet border on 26 August 2026, only one question is again circulating on social media - is 26th really inauspicious? The glacier broke in the Himalayas and many areas of Nepal situated below were destroyed. Hundreds of deaths were reported on the very first day and then the number of dead bodies and missing people increased every day.
After this, people started making lists of old major tragedies that occurred on the 26th. The truth is that any date has no scientific connection with a disaster, but in history, on 26th, some such incidents have happened whose impact was felt by the whole world.
As soon as a part of the glacier broke on the Nepal-Tibet border, a flood of ice, stones and water came down. Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers flooded simultaneously. Villages, bridges, roads and hydro power projects were washed away. In many places people were not even warned to flee, and later debris and broken roads made rescue more difficult.
An undersea earthquake occurred near Indonesia and the tsunami that followed destroyed the coasts of 14 countries including India. Lakhs of people were rendered homeless.
Gujarat was shaken on the Republic Day. That earthquake in Bhuj had reduced thousands of buildings to debris within a few seconds and taken thousands of lives.
There was an explosion in reactor number-4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant of the Soviet Union. The radiation that spread after this is still considered the world's biggest nuclear tragedy.
Looking at the list, it certainly seems like a coincidence, but nothing more than a coincidence. There are no dates behind floods, earthquakes or tsunamis, but scientific reasons like tectonic plates, weather, melting of glaciers. Even in the Nepal tragedy, the focus of scientists is on the breaking of glaciers and the rapidly changing Himalayas. Therefore, instead of calling 26th unlucky, it is better that we understand why these changes are taking place in the mountains.
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