Scores dead after massive flash floods hit Nepal
Key Takeaways
- At least 72 people were killed after flash floods struck northern Nepal near the Chinese border.
- Authorities said 384 tourists and travellers, including 291 foreign nationals, were out of contact in Rasuwa.
- Officials are investigating whether an earthquake-triggered avalanche contributed to the devastating flood surge.
At least 98 people were killed as floodwaters tore through northern Nepal, while hundreds of tourists and travellers remained out of contact.
At least 98 people have been killed and hundreds more are reported missing after powerful flash floods swept through northern Nepal, destroying communities and infrastructure near the border with China.
The floods left thick mud and debris across parts of a river valley in Rasuwa District, affecting farmland and settlements across the surrounding hillsides.
The Nepal Tourism Board said 384 tourists and travellers were out of contact in Rasuwa, including 291 foreign nationals and 93 Nepali citizens.
The preliminary list includes travellers from India, Britain, the United States, Malaysia and several other countries.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
Xi orders 'all out' rescue mission after deadly mudslide tears across Nepal-China border
The floodwaters swept through the Bhote Koshi River corridor on Wednesday morning, hitting Timure and Syafrubesi and damaging roads and bridges leading to the Rasuwagadhi border crossing.
The disaster also affected the border area around Gyirong. Chinese authorities said a mudslide caused major casualties and left people unaccounted for at Gyirong Port at around 10:30.
China's Ministry of Emergency Management deployed hundreds of firefighters and engineering rescue personnel to the affected area, along with emergency equipment and relief supplies.
Nepalese authorities warned residents to stay away from riverbanks along the Bhote Koshi, Trishuli and Narayani rivers as rescue teams worked to reach affected communities.
An earthquake was also reported in the Himalayan region on Wednesday. Early reports suggested it may have triggered an ice-and-rock avalanche that blocked a river before a large surge of water broke through and rushed downstream.
Authorities were still working to determine the precise chain of events behind the disaster.
Officials also stressed that the missing-person figures remain preliminary and are being checked with travel agencies, guides, local authorities and security agencies.
They urged people not to assume that those listed as missing were dead until their whereabouts had been confirmed.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
Juan Orlando Hernandez returns to Honduras after Trump pardon
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
