Massive flooding in Nepal killed at least eight people on Wednesday as Chinese state media reported "major casualties" from a mudslide at a Tibet trade hub on China's side of the shared border. Images shared by Nepali police showed floodwater surging through a river, sweeping away houses in its path, while news agency images depicted the top floor of a house sticking out from muddy soil. "So far, eight bodies have been found.
Rescue operations are underway," Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told AFP. Videos shared by Nepal police and others on social media showed torrents of muddy water crashing through mountain valleys in the Himalayan district bordering China. "I witnessed the flood sweep away eight or nine trucks, along with houses and people," Suman Chalise, a 34-year-old teacher, told in Nuwakot district.
"It was absolutely heart-wrenching. I had not witnessed such devastation before." The police spokesperson said earlier that authorities did not know the extent of the damage but said they had "alerted people who are staying near the riverside to relocate." The Nepal Army said it had deployed helicopters and disaster response personnel to the affected area. The Nepal Electricity Authority said about 430 megawatts of production capacity, including from hydropower and solar facilities, has been damaged.
"The disaster has damaged the production, transmission and distribution facilities of the Authority...resulting in disruption of electricity supply," it said. Sarthak Shrestha, a remote sensing and geo information analyst at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), said a preliminary assessment showed "no anomalies" from China's side of the border. "We believe a rock-ice avalanche occurred in Nepal, blocking the Lhende river and causing the cascading flood event," he said.
Several highways were also closed, Nepali authorities said. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday that "a mudslide disaster on the Nepalese side resulted in major casualties and missing people at the Gyirong Port" in Tibet. Footage shared by the broadcaster, showed rushing water carrying tree branches and debris, as well as a flooded road.
State news agency Xinhua said Chinese President Xi Jinping had urged "all-out" rescue operations, but did not provide figures on injuries or deaths. Xi said that "the most urgent task is doing everything possible to search for and rescue the missing people...quickly treat injured people and minimise casualties to the greatest extent possible," according to CCTV. Traffic authorities in Tibet's Shigatse said roads in the area were "at risk of mudslides and unsafe for passage" in a post on social media on Wednesday.
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