Aug. 26 (UPI) — At least 157 people are dead and hundreds more missing, including 47 Americans, after a devastating flash flood hit Nepal on Wednesday.

The U.S. Embassy in Nepal hasn’t released any information about missing Americans.

“Department of State staff in Washington, D.C., and Kathmandu are monitoring the situation and are in touch with the Government of Nepal,” it said. “The United States stands ready to provide assistance.”

The flash flooding hit an area on the border of Nepal and Chinese-controlled Tibet. Around 341 foreign nationals were missing, including Americans, Nepalese authorities have said. China reported three dead but about 200 missing. The death toll rose as rescuers work to find survivors.

Some of the missing include: 133 Indians on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet; at least 90 Italians; nine South Koreans; four Russians; two Portuguese; one Ukrainian, and possibly a second with whom the foreign ministry has lost contact.

Videos posted on social media from surveillance cameras show massive waves of muddy water engulfing people as they run for their lives, along with cars, buses, bridges and buildings.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also said it will send $1.2 million in emergency funding to the Nepal Red Cross.

“The release of emergency funding means the Nepal Red Cross can act immediately while assessments continue,” said David Fisher, the IFRC head of delegation for Nepal. “We are closely monitoring the situation and are ready to provide additional support if needs increase. We will not forget support for their long-term recovery either, since entire villages and market areas have been wiped out.”

The World Health Organization in Nepal said it sent emergency medical supplies to affected communities, including medicines and tents, CNN reported.

“My greatest respect and gratitude for the selfless first responders doing the search and rescue and providing care during this difficult time,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X.

India plans to send about 22,000 pounds of humanitarian aid and medication to Nepal, India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in a post on X.

“Our thoughts are with the bereaved families and all those affected,” Jaishankar wrote. “In face of this challenge, India stands with Nepal and its people.”

The staff at four Nepali Police posts and customs officials at the Chinese border were missing, said Abi Narayan Kafle, a representative for the Nepal Police. Security forces led by the Nepali army said 114 people were flown to safety.

The army mobilized 12 helicopters, created a temporary hospital in the flood zone and evacuated at least 25 seriously injured people to the capital Kathmandu.

At least 19 automobile bridges and about 25 miles of roads were swept away. Mud is more than 5 feet deep in some places.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered local authorities to “make every effort” to search for missing residents.

The cause of the flash flood isn’t clear, but Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said the government had preliminary information that there was an avalanche Wednesday morning in the region. Scientists studying the disaster said their initial assessment was that an ice avalanche was triggered by a large chunk of ice that broke off from a glacier.

Other reports said there was an earthquake that triggered a landslide that blocked the river, causing the flash flooding.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially registered a 4.4-magnitude earthquake Wednesday morning, but later determined that the shaking was caused by the avalanche itself, adding that the landslide recorded a magnitude of 5.2.

“There was no rain in Nepal, so we were not expecting anything like this,” said Narendra Pariyar, chief district officer of Rasuwa, one of the areas affected by the floods.

An Indian spiritual guru and entrepreneur known as Sadhguru, whose foundation organizes pilgrimage tours to Mount Kailash, said 77 of its tourists were at the immigration center of the Nepal-Tibet border when the flood hit, The New York Times reported.

“There has been no official information on the whereabouts of any of the people who were at the immigration office,” he wrote in a post on X. “We are working with the authorities to see if we can get to the location and stand ready to be part of the rescue efforts.”

Chinese responders worked to clear roads in Gyirong county in Tibet to get to victims, a local military official told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. Ongoing rain complicated that effort.

“Right now, the various loaders and excavators are being used to clear a path,” Chen Xi, of the Gyirong Border Defense Company of Tibet’s Shigatse Military sub-command, told CCTV Wednesday evening. Chen noted some units were waiting at a command center due to the risk of more landslides.

“The mountain slopes around us could collapse at any time, because the road runs along steep cliffs, and … there may also be a risk of another mudslide,” Chen said.