Deadly flash floods near Nepal-Tibet border raze villages, leave hundreds missing

A huge wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and China's Tibet on Wednesday, triggering catastrophic flooding on the Nepali side that killed at least 160 people and left hundreds of tourists missing.

In a still-unfolding disaster, verified videos showed dozens of people swept away at the border, with authorities on both sides fearing far higher casualties and massive destruction.

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Houses, roads and ​power projects were swept away ‌in Nepal, while officials in Tibet said they feared "major casualties", with some people missing in the county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a border land crossing.

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Police in Nepal reported at least 157 dead. China’s state broadcaster CCTV said a mudslide in the Tibet region’s Gyirong County near the border killed at least three and left 265 missing. Drone footage showed roads destroyed and buildings buried. State news agency Xinhua reported significant casualties.

Nepal’s steep valleys are economic lifelines and travel corridors but precarious ones when disaster strikes. Images showed what appeared to be the second floors of buildings in hard-hit Nuwakot district slathered in mud after the torrent rushed by. Debris hung from tree branches and wires, vehicles were buried and stunned survivors were caked in mud.

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Officials in Nepal said 403 people, including 341 foreign nationals, were reported missing. Sunil Sharma, a tourism board spokesperson, said 133 were from India on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. Also missing were 47 from the US, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 24 from Canada, he said.

At least 62 missing Nepali citizens were among hundreds of locals trekking in the Gosaikunda Lake area in Rasuwa, coinciding with the local festival of Janai Purnima on Friday, Sharma added. 

'We all need to stand together'

Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah urged the Himalayan nation to stand united.

"The pain and loss you have suffered is not small. But I want to assure you that you are not alone in this difficult time – the state is with you with all its means and resources," Shah said in a statement posted to social media.

"Please be patient. The government takes full responsibility for your rescue, treatment, food and shelter. In times of such a disaster, we all need to stand together."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had spoken to Shah, and gave both his condolences and an offer to aid rescue efforts.

"The people of India stand in solidarity with their sisters and brothers in Nepal at this difficult time," Modi said in a statement.

"India is ready to provide all possible humanitarian assistance to Nepal. Our teams are coordinating closely on rescue and relief efforts."

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Himalayan river flooding 

The Bhotekoshi River flooded around 9am Wednesday, destroying several villages as well as roads and hydropower projects, officials said. They issued warnings to residents of several of Nepal’s districts and asked them to stay away from the banks of Bhotekoshi, Trishuli and Narayani rivers.

The worst affected area, Rasuwa district, witnessed similar flash floods to those in August last year, when a glacial lake in neighbouring Tibet overflowed as a result of high temperatures in the mountain region. Nine people lost their lives and critical infrastructure including a bridge connecting the two countries were damaged at the time.

Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development say an avalanche from a glacier likely caused Wednesday's flash flood. 

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The Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi River, witnessed maximum flooding Wednesday, they said.

“The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in fourteen 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,” said Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the climate research group.

“In a warming Himalaya, early warning is the first line of adaptation,” he added.

The Himalayan region, which crosses Nepal and several nearby countries including India, is especially vulnerable to heavy rains, floods and landslides because the area is warming up faster than the rest of the world due to human-caused climate change. Research has shown that extreme weather events including heatwaves, heavy rains and melting glaciers have become more frequent in the region.

Researchers at the Kathmandu research group found earlier this year that glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region are melting at an accelerating rate, with ice loss rates doubling since 2000 primarily due to rising global temperatures and climate change.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)