Nepal floods live updates: Death toll from catastrophic flood reaches 469, police say | Today’s news
Nepal floods live updates: Nepalese police on Friday (local time) said the death toll from the catastrophic flash floods earlier this week had reached 469.
China warns of high risk after mudslide hits China-Nepal border
Chinese authorities have warned that the man-made lake, which was formed after a mudslide hit the China-Nepal border, faces “a high risk of bursting and sending floodwaters downstream”, according to state media.
Rescue operations are underway
Rescue operations are underway in Nepal on Thursday as more than 1,000 people are missing in Nepal and neighboring China after a catastrophic flash flood that killed at least 359 people and swept through valleys and hillsides littered with debris. Authorities are using helicopters to search for survivors and deliver emergency supplies.
Search operations are intensifying
Rescue teams scoured Nepal’s debris-strewn valleys and hillsides on Thursday as more than 1,000 people remained missing in Nepal and neighboring China after a wall of ice, mud and rock collapsed into a mountain river. Police said 359 people died while helicopters were used to search for survivors and deliver emergency supplies.
A new flood risk is emerging
Nepal’s disaster management agency warned of potential fresh flooding along the Bhotekoshi River after a lake formed behind the blockade created by Wednesday’s disaster. The lake is rising and could burst, prompting authorities to urge residents and rescue workers along the river’s lower banks to move to safer areas.
Hundreds of foreigners remain missing
Nepal’s Home Minister Sudhan Gurung said rescue teams had located 100 missing Indian visitors, mostly pilgrims, and 25 Chinese workers in the worst-hit Trishuli region. Nearly 550 foreigners remain missing, while authorities are still assessing the number of missing Nepali nationals. 558 people, including 260 foreign nationals, remain missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county, China’s state-run CCTV said.
Entire villages destroyed, says the Red Cross
The Red Cross said entire villages were destroyed and damaged roads and bridges left communities cut off. Authorities fished out 103 bodies from a river system in Chitwan district, about 100 km from the worst-hit area, as dozens of bodies were swept downstream into the plains.
The dammed lake raises new concerns
Chinese authorities said a dammed lake upstream of the affected border area was overflowing and could pose a serious risk if it broke. The lake was estimated at 2 million cubic meters, another 3 million cubic meters of water is expected to enter during the next three days. Many of the victims were pilgrims traveling to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet.
285 Indians remain uncontactable after Nepal floods
A total of 285 Indian nationals remain uncontactable following the devastating flash floods in Nepal. Rescue teams have so far evacuated 33 workers from the Trishuli-I project and 21 people from Tamil Nadu.
