Rescue teams in Nepal are digging through mud and debris as the confirmed death toll from this week’s flash flood climbed to 469, with nearly 1,000 more people still missing in Nepal and neighbouring Tibet.
The disaster was triggered Wednesday morning by a glacier collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border that sent a torrent of rock, ice and mud through Himalayan river systems. Authorities warn the risk of fresh flooding remains high.
Search and rescue intensifies
Emergency workers are using heavy machinery, helicopters and sniffer dogs to search devastated towns along the route linking Kathmandu to Lhasa. Dozens of bodies have been recovered in the plains after being swept downstream.
In Rasuwa, one of the worst-hit areas, survivor Dibga Tamang was airlifted to an army camp in Nuwakot. “All of our people have gone. They are dead,” he said. “Everything and everyone is gone.”
Officials said at least 540 of those missing are foreigners. Among them are 10 men from northern Virginia who were trekking to Tibet’s Mount Kailash. Relatives in the U.S. said they are pressing officials for updates. U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington had offered support to Nepal.
In Tibet’s Gyirong County, CCTV reported 558 missing, including 260 foreign nationals. Only three deaths have been confirmed on the Chinese side so far.
New flood threat builds
Nepal’s disaster authority warned that a lake formed by debris blocking the Bhotekoshi River is rising and could burst. Across the border, China said about 3 million cubic metres of water — equal to 1,200 Olympic pools — is expected to flow into an already dammed lake over the next three days, with peak flow around September 1.
Chinese engineers are conducting aerial surveys and 3D modelling, but access is difficult due to steep cliffs. The plan is to excavate a drainage channel, pending calculations on water flow.
Government response
Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who visited Nuwakot on Thursday, said all state agencies are “operating at full capacity” with priorities on rescue, treatment and relief.
In Chitwan district, 103 bodies have been recovered from the river. With hospitals overwhelmed, authorities are setting up tents for families to identify the dead.
The disaster tests Shah’s five-month-old government, but officials note Nepal has experience managing large-scale tragedies, including the 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people.
