Massive flash floods in a border area of Nepal and China on Wednesday resulted in at least 75 deaths and left hundreds of tourists, workers, and others missing after inundating communities and halting travel in parts of the Himalayan country.
Officials in Nepal reported that 403 people were missing, including 341 foreign nationals. Sunil Sharma, a spokesperson for the Nepal Tourism Board, specified that 133 missing individuals were from India, on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in China’s autonomous region of Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. He also stated that 47 people were missing from the United States, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain, and 24 from Canada, noting that people from at least 26 countries had been present in the affected area.
Sharma added that at least 62 missing Nepali citizens were among hundreds of locals trekking near Gosaikunda lake in Rasuwa, coinciding with the Nepali festival of Janai Purnima on Friday.
China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported that a mudslide in Tibet’s Gyirong County near Nepal killed at least three people and left 265 missing, according to a preliminary count.
Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle, who provided the local death toll, also informed The Associated Press that at least 28 police officials were among those missing.
Officials cautioned residents in several districts of Nepal to avoid the banks of the Bhotekoshi, Trishuli, and Narayani rivers. According to officials, the Bhotekoshi flooded around 9 a.m. Wednesday, damaging numerous villages, roads, and hydropower projects.
Sasmit Pokharel, a Nepali government spokesperson, stated, “We have asked both India and China to help us with the rescue efforts.”
Nepal’s steep valleys serve as vital economic lifelines and travel corridors but become precarious during disasters. Images showed what appeared to be the second floors of buildings in the hard-hit Nuwakot district covered in mud after the torrent passed through. Debris hung from tree branches and wires, vehicles were buried, and stunned survivors were coated in mud.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Kathmandu, near the border with China’s autonomous region of Tibet.
Although the current monsoon season is less favorable for trekking in Nepal, it is a major season for Kailash trekking in Tibet, which follows the route through Nepal’s Rasuwa district bordering Tibet’s Gyirong.
### Countries Express Alarm Over Missing Citizens
South Korean government officials indicated that citizens employed on building a hydropower plant in Nepal were among those reported missing.
Malaysia’s foreign ministry announced that its embassy in Kathmandu received reports from travel agencies regarding 11 Malaysians believed to be in the Rasuwa district, which was also severely affected by floods.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, Chinese authorities were conducting large-scale search and rescue operations in the Tibetan border area of Gyirong. State news agency Xinhua reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered authorities to intensify these efforts.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah and offered assistance. Modi stated on social media, “India is prepared to provide Nepal with all possible types of humanitarian assistance. Our teams are closely coordinating on rescue and relief efforts.”
In a joint statement, Australia, Britain, the European Union, Finland, France, Norway, and Switzerland expressed solidarity with those affected in Nepal, adding: “We encourage all those in affected areas to follow the guidance of local authorities and official safety advisories as the situation continues to evolve.”
### The Same Region Saw Flash Floods Last Year
Similar flash floods occurred in the same regions last August when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed due to high temperatures. Nine people were killed, and critical infrastructure, including a bridge connecting Nepal and China, sustained damage.
Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development suggested that an avalanche from a glacier likely caused Wednesday’s flash flood.
They noted that the Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi, experienced maximum flooding on Wednesday.
Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the climate research group, said, “The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice rock avalanche from a glacier on the Nepal side that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream.”
He emphasized the necessity of early warnings in "a warming Himalaya."
The Himalayan region, which encompasses several countries including India, is particularly susceptible to heavy rains, floods, and landslides because it is warming faster than the rest of the world due to human-caused climate change. Research indicates that extreme weather events, such as heat waves, rainfall, and melting glaciers, have become more frequent.
Researchers in Kathmandu discovered earlier this year that glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region are melting at an accelerating pace, with ice loss rates doubling since 2000, primarily due to rising global temperatures and climate change.
Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India. Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
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