Genevieve Donnellon-May was interviewed by Radio France International about the recent Nepal-China landslide, hydropower projects and associated risks
September 29, 2026: Genevieve Donnellon-May, Associated Research Fellow, was interviewed by Radio France International about the recent Nepal-China landslide, hydropower projects and associated risks.
The article quotes Geneviève Donnellon-May, a researcher at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies, as telling Libération that a broader lesson from this mudslide and flooding disaster is that cascading geological events occurring in high-mountain areas can turn into a downstream disaster within just a few hours. This makes it even more important to independently map geological hazards, assess cumulative effects, and share information across borders. The scholar pointed out that, in her view, the planned Medog hydropower station could have serious consequences, but transparency is extremely low. In particular, there is a lack of independent risk assessments and real-time data sharing. Although she is unwilling to use the term “water bomb” to describe the dam, she believes that the risks are real.