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Flash floods sweep away houses and bridges in central Nepal

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 6 outlets across the spectrum.

11 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Muddy grey floodwater rushing through a steep mountain valley, with buildings on the hillside at right.
Image via New York PostHow images are chosenReport this image

Flash floods on the Budhi Gandaki River in central Nepal swept away houses, suspension bridges and part of a hydropower project, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, as reported by Al Jazeera, BBC News, Sky News and the New York Post. Authorities said about five people were missing and no casualties had been reported. The army said about 50 people had been rescued, while the disaster authority and Prime Minister Balendra Shah gave figures above 80. Authorities urged villagers downstream to move to higher ground. The floods came about two months after an August avalanche-triggered flood that outlets said killed more than 1,400 people.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Flash floods along the Budhi Gandaki River in central Nepal swept away houses and bridges.

    Reported byLeft1Center2Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    Sky News, BBC News
    Right
    New York Post

  2. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said about a dozen houses and two or more suspension bridges were swept away and a hydropower project was damaged.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    BBC News
    Right
    New York Post

  3. Authorities said about five people were missing and no casualties had been reported.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    BBC News

  4. Rescue figures differ: the army said about 50 people had been rescued, while the disaster authority and Prime Minister Balendra Shah gave figures above 80.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    BBC News
    Right
    New York Post

  5. The floods came about two months after an August glacier avalanche sent a flood through the Himalayas that killed more than 1,400 people, according to reports.

    Reported byCenter1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Center
    BBC News
    Right
    New York Post

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • How many people were rescued in the Gorkha flood.

    The army confirmed about 50 rescued, per BBC News; the disaster authority reported at least 82, and Prime Minister Balendra Shah more than 80, per Al Jazeera English and the New York Post.

  • The death toll of the August flood near the Chinese border.

    More than 1,400 dead, per BBC News context and the New York Post; Al Jazeera English describes the earlier floods as having killed hundreds.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report that flash floods on the Budhi Gandaki River in central Nepal swept away houses and bridges, and left people missing or rescued. Left and center headlines lead with damage, missing people and homes; the right-side NY Post leads with dramatic video of a bridge being torn away.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Headlines lead with the damage and the count of missing people, citing officials, and one ends on a bridge washed away.

    At least five people missing as flash floods in Nepal sweep away houses
    Al Jazeera EnglishLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    3 outlets

    Headlines state plainly that homes, buildings or bridges were swept away or destroyed, and one notes that the floods came two months after an earlier disaster.

    Homes and bridges swept away as fresh floods hit Nepal
    BBC NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The New York Post headline leads with a dramatic video of a bridge being torn away, while its Reuters report, written elsewhere, leads with the evacuation call and the landslide cause.

    Sensational language“Roaring”The word adds drama that the reported event does not need to be described accurately.More neutral: Flash floodsDisagree with this highlight? flash floods wipe out entire bridge in Nepal in dramatic video
    New York PostRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right2

    Wild video footageRoaring

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    Wild video footageMore neutral: Video footage

    The word wild adds drama that the footage itself does not establish.

    Wild video footage captured the moment raging waters tore apart a bridge in Nepal as devastating…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Sensational language

    RoaringMore neutral: Flash floods

    The word adds drama that the reported event does not need to be described accurately.

    Roaring flash floods wipe out entire bridge in Nepal in dramatic video

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets

Leads with

  • missing people
  • damaged houses and bridges
  • official urging of evacuation
See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

3 outlets

Leads with

  • homes and bridges destroyed
  • helicopter evacuations
  • fresh floods after the August disaster
See the 3 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • dramatic video footage
  • second disaster in two months
  • evacuation call
See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    Al Jazeera English, Oct 11, 2:34 AM EDT

  • Center

    1 hr 11 min later

    Its first report, Oct 11, 3:46 AM EDT

  • Right

    3 hr 7 min later

    Its first report, Oct 11, 5:41 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftOct 11, 2:34 AM EDT
  2. Sky NewsCenterOct 11, 3:46 AM EDT
  3. New York PostRightOct 11, 5:41 AM EDT
  4. BBC NewsCenterOct 11, 6:34 AM EDT
  5. ABC NewsLeftOct 12, 4:10 AM EDT
  6. France 24CenterOct 12, 8:14 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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