Death toll from floods in Nepal and China exceeds 1,000
The death toll from large-scale floods in Nepal and China has exceeded 1,000 people. Nepal has confirmed 987 deaths, while China has reported 16, Euronews reports.
Thousands of people remain missing
Nepal’s disaster management agency said that as of Tuesday, 3,916 people remained missing in the country, including 583 foreigners. Chinese authorities, in their latest update released on Sunday, reported 546 people missing.
According to Nepalese authorities, at least 11,814 people have been rescued. Rescuers are using helicopters and other aircraft to reach cut-off communities where floods and landslides have destroyed roads and bridges.
Collapse in the Himalayas triggered floods
The disaster began on August 26 in the Himalayas with a series of events following a glacier collapse. Large masses of rock, ice and meltwater descended into valleys, causing powerful flooding downstream.
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Scientists studying satellite images said the collapse was likely linked to the failure of bedrock beneath a glacier in the Himalayas. The rockfall was so powerful that it was recorded as a seismic event with a magnitude of 5.2.
The flow of water and debris entered rivers in the valleys of Tibet and Nepal, causing water levels to rise rapidly. The water swept away homes, other structures, roads and bridges, carrying mud and rocks downstream.
One of the priorities for rescuers is finding at least 900 workers at 12 hydropower projects damaged by the flash floods. Around 500 of them are preliminarily estimated to be trapped in tunnels. The Nepalese army released footage showing search teams making their way through dark tunnels filled with debris, mud and water.
Helicopter pilot Bimal Sharma, who has been carrying out rescue flights since the start of the disaster, said he was struck by the scale of destruction in Timure, a settlement bordering Tibet.
