Summary: at least 160 killed in Nepal flash flood as search for hundreds missing continues
Authorities in Nepal and Tibet have said they fear the death toll from catastrophic flooding could be much higher than 160 people already killed, as search and rescue efforts to locate the hundreds missing continue.
A huge wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, triggering the flash flood that washed away houses, roads and border crossings.
Verified videos showed dozens of people swept away at the border, with authorities on both sides fearing far higher casualties and massive destruction.
Officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties” after a mudslide hit a border land crossing in the county of Gyirong.
As darkness fell, authorities continued the grim task of recovering and trying to identify bodies.
Nepal police said 157 bodies had been recovered so far. Three people were reported killed on the Tibet side of the border.
Initial reports from Nepali officials suggested an earthquake in the area could have caused the lower part of a glacier to collapse and trigger the floods. The USGS later said the tremor recorded at the time was caused by the glacial rock and ice collapsing to the valley floor.
Here’s what else is happening:
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Rescue teams are rushing on Thursday to find hundreds of people missing after the flood and landslides killed at least 160 people. Many of the missing were foreign tourists, officials said.
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Nepali police said they had recovered 157 bodies after “devastating floods”, with officers working to move families in flood-risk areas to safety. Chinese state media reported “major casualties” from a mudslide at a Tibet border hub, reporting three dead and another 265 missing.
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Tibet government officials mobilised nearly 800 emergency workers and 150 vehicles as well as sniffer dogs and speed boats to help the rescue efforts, China’s official Xinhua news agency said.
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At least 403 tourists – 341 of them foreigners – were unaccounted for several hours after the disaster struck on Wednesday morning, according to Nepal’s tourism ministry. The missing foreigners included 142 Indians, 33 from the UK, 47 from the US, 34 from Australia and 24 from Canada as well as others from South Korea, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Portugal and South Africa, the tourism board said. Nine South Koreans were missing, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.
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At least 28 Nepal police officials were missing, a police spokesperson said.
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Entire villages and markets were “wiped out”, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. It was dispatching emergency supplies including blankets, first aid kits, stretchers and body bags.
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United Nations chief António Guterres said UN teams and partners were mobilising supplies and personnel in Nepal to support affected communities.
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Surveillance video from the Chinese side of the border showed a raging wall of mud and debris crashing over a building several storeys high, engulfing it as dozens of people flee for their lives below. The surge swept away buses and cars.
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Experts warned that a lingering blockage upstream on the Nepal-China border river could produce a second flood.
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The cause of the flooding was not immediately clear. Nepalese foreign minister Shishir Khanal said an earthquake likely triggered a landslide, which in turn blocked a river, sending water gushing downstream. Nepal’s disaster authority said satellite data indicated a “snow-rock landslide” on the Nepal-China border may have caused the flood. Scientists say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the region.
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Chinese leader Xi Jinping said “the most urgent task is doing everything possible to search for and rescue the missing people”, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
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The US Geological Survey first reported a magnitude-4.4 earthquake early on Wednesday, about 66km (41 miles) north of Kathmandu, near the border. It later updated to call the shaking a 5.2-magnitude landslide.
Key events
More here on the cause of the disaster after the US Geological Survey (USGS) said there had been a glacial collapse that caused seismic activity and catastrophic impacts in Nepal and Tibet.
The agency said seismic activity initially reported as an earthquake “was instead a glacial collapse and debris flow” that “caused subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream”.
The cause of the disaster was not immediately clear in the hours after it occurred early on Wednesday, but Nepalese foreign minister Shishir Khanal had said an earthquake likely triggered a landslide, in turn blocking a river and sending water gushing downstream.
Other theories advanced included a glacial lake flood – when a fragile debris wall holding back glacier melt collapses – or an ice avalanche, as AFP reports.
The USGS said on Thursday that “a magnitude 5.2 seismic event occurred near the border between Nepal and China” on Wednesday at 8.37am local time.
The agency said:
This event was initially reported as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake. Additional analysis of nearby seismic stations, long period seismic waves, and satellite imagery led to the determination that the seismic event was instead a glacial collapse and debris flow, and that no earthquake had occurred.
As accounts from witnesses of the disaster emerge, one survivor has described being rescued while his wife is still missing, and another described being saved by clinging to a mango tree.
“It was a huge gush of mud coming straight towards us,” said Keshav Prasad Baral, 68, who was being treated at a small hospital. “As it got closer, it kept rising higher and higher.
When I saw it enter our home, I tried to grab my wife’s hand and take her to the terrace. But she was swept away by the mud.
Four or five hours later, a helicopter came to rescue me. My wife is still somewhere beneath the mud. She’s gone
Another survivor, also quoted by Reuters, described being saved by clinging to a mango tree as he watched the house where he had been working disappear.
The flash flood’s force washed away whole villages and markets as well as motor vehicles, roads and power projects.
Glacial collapse caused ‘catastrophic impacts’, says US agency
A glacial collapse caused seismic activity and “catastrophic” downstream impacts in Nepal and Tibet, the US Geological Survey is saying.
Seismic activity initially reported as an earthquake “was instead a glacial collapse and debris flow” that “caused subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream”, the agency said on Thursday, quoted by Agence France-Presse.
Summary: at least 160 killed in Nepal flash flood as search for hundreds missing continues
Authorities in Nepal and Tibet have said they fear the death toll from catastrophic flooding could be much higher than 160 people already killed, as search and rescue efforts to locate the hundreds missing continue.
A huge wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, triggering the flash flood that washed away houses, roads and border crossings.
Verified videos showed dozens of people swept away at the border, with authorities on both sides fearing far higher casualties and massive destruction.
Officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties” after a mudslide hit a border land crossing in the county of Gyirong.
As darkness fell, authorities continued the grim task of recovering and trying to identify bodies.
Nepal police said 157 bodies had been recovered so far. Three people were reported killed on the Tibet side of the border.
Initial reports from Nepali officials suggested an earthquake in the area could have caused the lower part of a glacier to collapse and trigger the floods. The USGS later said the tremor recorded at the time was caused by the glacial rock and ice collapsing to the valley floor.
Here’s what else is happening:
-
Rescue teams are rushing on Thursday to find hundreds of people missing after the flood and landslides killed at least 160 people. Many of the missing were foreign tourists, officials said.
-
Nepali police said they had recovered 157 bodies after “devastating floods”, with officers working to move families in flood-risk areas to safety. Chinese state media reported “major casualties” from a mudslide at a Tibet border hub, reporting three dead and another 265 missing.
-
Tibet government officials mobilised nearly 800 emergency workers and 150 vehicles as well as sniffer dogs and speed boats to help the rescue efforts, China’s official Xinhua news agency said.
-
At least 403 tourists – 341 of them foreigners – were unaccounted for several hours after the disaster struck on Wednesday morning, according to Nepal’s tourism ministry. The missing foreigners included 142 Indians, 33 from the UK, 47 from the US, 34 from Australia and 24 from Canada as well as others from South Korea, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Portugal and South Africa, the tourism board said. Nine South Koreans were missing, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.
-
At least 28 Nepal police officials were missing, a police spokesperson said.
-
Entire villages and markets were “wiped out”, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. It was dispatching emergency supplies including blankets, first aid kits, stretchers and body bags.
-
United Nations chief António Guterres said UN teams and partners were mobilising supplies and personnel in Nepal to support affected communities.
-
Surveillance video from the Chinese side of the border showed a raging wall of mud and debris crashing over a building several storeys high, engulfing it as dozens of people flee for their lives below. The surge swept away buses and cars.
-
Experts warned that a lingering blockage upstream on the Nepal-China border river could produce a second flood.
-
The cause of the flooding was not immediately clear. Nepalese foreign minister Shishir Khanal said an earthquake likely triggered a landslide, which in turn blocked a river, sending water gushing downstream. Nepal’s disaster authority said satellite data indicated a “snow-rock landslide” on the Nepal-China border may have caused the flood. Scientists say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the region.
-
Chinese leader Xi Jinping said “the most urgent task is doing everything possible to search for and rescue the missing people”, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
-
The US Geological Survey first reported a magnitude-4.4 earthquake early on Wednesday, about 66km (41 miles) north of Kathmandu, near the border. It later updated to call the shaking a 5.2-magnitude landslide.
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