On August 26, severe flash floods struck central Nepal, particularly along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers. The disaster followed a sudden surge of water linked to an upstream ice avalanche and temporary river blockage in Tibet. Floodwaters and debris destroyed homes, roads, bridges and hydropower infrastructure, leaving hundreds dead and thousands missing.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which a massive collapse of snow and ice from a mountain slope has gone viral. The footage shows a large mass of ice breaking off and cascading down toward a turquoise lake.
The video is shared with a caption suggesting that it shows the onset of the recent flooding in Nepal, which was triggered by an apparent glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) along the Nepal-China border.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “The flood that occurred in Nepal—its beginning is being indicated from right here.” (Translated from Hindi)
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video from July 2026 and shows ice collapsing from the slopes of Mount Humantay toward Humantay Lake in the Cusco region of southern Peru.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same image was shared by an X account on July 31. The video was shared with a caption that reads, “Near Cusco in Peru a few days ago, at the Humantay lake, hikers were treated (from a safe distance) to a very scary looking avalanche.”
The caption further suggested that the video was taken by an Instagram user, Memo Martinez.
The caption further suggested that the video was taken by an Instagram user, Memo Martinez.
We found that the video was also shared by the Instagram page on July 27 with a hashtag suggesting that it was of an avalanche that happened in Peru.
Since the video predates the Nepal flood, we can ascertain that the viral video is old.
We further found that the screenshot of the video was also shared by a Spanish website, Infobae on July 27. According to the report, on July 27, 2026, an avalanche of snow and ice descended from Mount Humantay near Peru’s popular Humantay Lake in Cusco, startling dozens of tourists. Videos captured the mass of snow and rocks sliding down the mountain, prompting visitors to move away for safety. Authorities reported no injuries or missing people and began assessing safety conditions around the tourist site.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.