A massive flash flood tore through a mountainous region in northern Nepal bordering China’s Tibet on Wednesday, washing away entire villages, infrastructure project sites, and a border checkpoint with China in the Himalayas.
At least 95 people are confirmed dead and hundreds, including travelers and security personnel, are missing in Nepal. Details of the damage and casualties are still coming in as the surge causes flooding downstream.
“Major casualties” and significant damage was also reported in China, where the Gyirong Port border checkpoint was smashed by a landslide early morning. Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered “all-out efforts to search and rescue people who are missing” in the Xizang Autonomous Region.
The Nepali Tourism Board said 384 tourists are missing, 291 of whom are foreign nationals. India said more than 100 of its citizens are among the missing.
The others include three Americans, 17 Malaysians, 12 people from the UK, four from South Africa, and one each from Australia and the Netherlands. Also missing, it said, are 93 Nepalis, linked to nine trekking agencies.
Most of those missing are pilgrims on the Kailash Mansarova Yatra, and may just be stranded and out of contact.
Videos show the flood’s fury as it swept aside everything that stood in its way, including hydropower projects, bridges, roads, and houses. It moved at rapid speed, giving people little to no time to escape.
Flood waters surged through the Bhote Koshi River, which originates in Tibet, at around 9 AM local time, causing widespread destruction in the Syapru Besi and Timure areas in the Rasuwa district.
Nepali officials have warned of potentially heavy casualties and people living along river banks have been asked to seek higher ground. Alerts have been issued for settlements along riverbanks in the Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, and Chitwan districts.
“We have reports of villages and infrastructure project sites being washed away,” Rasuwa district administrator Narendra Pariyar told Reuters by phone early in the day. “There could be heavy casualties or loss of property.”
The surge originated in Tibet, Nepal’s police posted online. Reports suggest that a natural dam that formed when an ice avalanche from the Nepal side blocked the Lhende River could have burst – either from water pressure, or when an earthquake struck the area earlier in the day.
Nepal’s foreign minister, Shishir Khanal, told the country’s parliament that the information is still being verified.
The ice-rock avalanche first hit the Gyirong border and customs checkpoint, smashing buildings and vehicles as people fled, videos shared online showed.
The landslide has caused “major casualties and missing persons” at Gyirong, China’s Xinhua reported. The People’s Armed Police, a paramilitary law enforcement agency, is at the scene to carry out emergency rescue and disaster relief operations. China has also closed the road leading to the Gyirong checkpoint for the next seven days.
Nepal has deployed the army, including helicopters, to conduct rescue operations.
The Bhote Koshi empties into Nepal’s Trishuli River, which eventually flows into India as the Gandak River. The Trishuli has also flooded as the surge moved downstream.
Indian authorities are on alert and monitoring the situation. The northern Bihar state, through which the Gandak flows, has already started evacuating people from low-lying areas that could be affected.
The Indian Embassy in Nepal said it is “engaged with the relevant authorities of Government of Nepal for early rescue and relief for Indian nationals.” Reports said India is preparing to send relief materials to Nepal, with Indian Air Force and disaster response teams on standby.