At least 95 people have been killed and 384 tourists and residents reported missing after a massive flood swept through Nepal’s northern Rasuwa district near the border with China, authorities said on Wednesday.
The Nepal Tourism Board said those reported missing include 291 foreign nationals and 93 Nepali citizens. Americans, Indians, Australians, Malaysians and Britons were among those unaccounted for, although authorities were still working to confirm their whereabouts.
The disaster struck the Syabrubesi area, a gateway to the popular Langtang trekking region and a route used by pilgrims travelling towards Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar.
Nepal Police spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle confirmed that the death toll had risen to 95, while 28 police officers were also reported missing.
A powerful torrent of mud, water and debris swept through mountain valleys, destroying buildings and damaging roads and other infrastructure.
Images released by Nepal Police showed floodwaters carrying large amounts of debris through the affected area, while photographs from the scene showed buildings partially submerged or buried in mud.
“We do not exactly know the extent of damage, but the flood is big, and it could have damaged many settlements,” Kafle told AFP.
He said authorities had advised residents living near rivers to move to safer locations and deployed available resources to affected communities.
Power, Roads Damaged
The Nepal Army has deployed helicopters and disaster-response teams to assist with search and rescue operations.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah also convened an emergency meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority to assess the disaster and coordinate the response.
“Work has started to take necessary steps in coordination with the medical team, scouts, and Red Cross,” Shah said in a social media post.
The flooding also caused extensive damage to Nepal’s electricity infrastructure.
The Nepal Electricity Authority said about 430 megawatts of generation capacity, including hydropower and solar facilities, had been affected.
“The disaster has damaged the production, transmission and distribution facilities of the Authority,” it said, adding that electricity supplies had been disrupted in affected areas.
Several highways were also closed by the flooding, further hampering rescue and relief operations.
Rescue Efforts and Fears of More Flooding
The disaster also affected areas near Nepal’s border with China.
Chinese state media reported significant casualties following a mudslide at Gyirong Port on the Tibetan side of the border. Television footage showed fast-moving water carrying tree branches and debris across roads.
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered an “all-out” rescue operation, directing authorities to search for missing people, treat the injured and minimise casualties.
Traffic authorities in Tibet’s Shigatse also warned that roads in the region were vulnerable to mudslides and unsafe for travel.
Nepali remote-sensing analyst Sarthak Shrestha said a preliminary assessment suggested that a rock-and-ice avalanche may have blocked the Lhende River in Nepal, triggering the devastating flooding.
Authorities have also warned of the possibility of another flood caused by an upstream blockage along the river near the Nepal-China border.
Qianggong Zhang, head of climate and environmental risks at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, urged authorities to remain alert to the possibility of a second flood.
Monsoon rains between June and September regularly trigger floods and landslides across South Asia. Scientists have also warned that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
The European Union said it had activated its Copernicus satellite monitoring system to help map the affected areas and support rescue and recovery efforts.
“Copernicus has been activated to help map the affected areas in Nepal and support the response on the ground,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
“We stand ready to mobilise further European assistance.”
Rescue teams continued searching for missing people as authorities worked to determine the full extent of the destruction and assess the needs of affected communities.
