Over the weekend, rescue workers in Nepal and Tibet raced to find people who are still trapped in villages affected by catastrophic flash floods. As of this morning, the death toll stands at 903, and more than 4,000 people are missing. For those of you reading this in a place where life continues as usual, the scale of devastation is hard to fathom.
In a matter of minutes, a torrent of mud and debris engulfed entire villages, snapped bridges and swept away people’s homes and families. Some survivors are marooned on top of buildings that rescue workers can’t reach. Others are trapped in tunnels beneath the ground.
Many have no idea if their loved ones are still alive. The floods exemplify a wider threat. The delicate processes that have shaped our climate for centuries are unwinding at a terrifying pace.
Scientists are still investigating the precise sequence of events that caused these floods, but as the planet heats up and glaciers melt, events like this will keep happening. The Guardian has been covering the floods extensively – you can read our visual guide to the disaster, and our latest report on it here. For this morning’s newsletter, I spoke to our south Asia correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen, who is on the ground in Kathmandu.
She’s been speaking to survivors and reporting on the rescue operation since Thursday. That’s after the headlines. UK politics | PC Andrew Harper’s killers will remain in prison after Andy Burnham announced changes to the early release scheme that will see anyone convicted of unlawful killing, including all forms of manslaughter, excluded from the scheme.
Milo Yiannopoulos | Far-right British media provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported from the US back to the UK by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in connection with what the agency said was expired authorisation to be in the country. US-Iran | Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on airbases in Jordan after the United States attacked Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the strait of Hormuz, the first such strikes in a month. Iceland | In a blow to Brussels, Iceland has held a referendum that has narrowly rejected the government’s proposal to hold accession talks with the EU.
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