At least 162 were killed in Nepal and three others in Tibet after massive flash floods in a border area of Nepal and China swept through communities on Wednesday. China’s state media reported warning up to 1000 people remain missing in Nepal and Tibet from the disaster. China's state new agency Xinhua said Thursday that mudslides in Tibet caused by a glacial collapse have left three people dead and 558 missing, while state broadcaster CCTV reported some 260 of the 558 missing people in Tibet were foreigners, and two villagers were rescued.
At least three people were killed as of Thursday morning, it said. Drone footage in Nepal showed roads destroyed and buildings buried by thundering water the colour of wet cement. The region’s steep valleys are economic lifelines and travel corridors but are precarious when disaster strikes.
Images showed what appeared to be the second floors of buildings in Nepal’s hard-hit Nuwakot district slathered in mud after the torrent rushed by. Debris hung from tree branches and wires, vehicles were buried and some stunned survivors were caked in mud. The floods halted travel in some areas.
People were preparing to go to office then,” resident Shoyam Rajbhandari said. Sunil Sharma, a tourism board spokesperson, said 133 were from India on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. Also missing were 47 from the United States, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 24 from Canada, he said.
The State Department said it was aware of Americans affected. Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters Thursday at least 34 Australians on pilgrimages and hiking tours were missing. The Nepalese government had not yet requested help but Australia was coordinating with Nepal, the United Nations, the Red Cross and other organizations on a humanitarian response, she said. 55 Malaysians in Kathmandu are now unreachable due to serious infrastructural delays, according to Malaysia's Foreign Ministry, which increased the number of missing on Thursday.
It stated that it is closely collaborating with authorities to determine the safety and locations of Malaysian casualties, but there is no formal confirmation of their presence. Geological Survey first reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday, about 66 kilometres (41 miles) north of Kathmandu, near the border. The USGS later updated its analysis to say the seismic event it measured was a magnitude 5.2 glacial collapse that sent debris flowing downstream with catastrophic impact on communities.
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