Nepal-Tibet Flash Floods Kill at Least 165, Hundreds Missing
Videos show walls of mud and water tearing through Himalayan towns as officials in Nepal and China scramble rescue teams and declare emergencies.
At least 165 people have been killed after flash floods swept through mountain towns and villages on the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday, Nepal's police service said, with the death toll expected to rise.
Videos verified by NBC News from the Rasuwagadhi border crossing, which links China's Tibet region to Nepal, show surging walls of mud and water sweeping away buses, trucks, bridges and buildings in an instant. Satellite imagery showed the basin of the Trishuli River dramatically swollen with mud.
Hundreds of people remain missing, including more than 500 foreigners. The Nepal Tourism Board said Thursday that 178 Indians were missing, many believed to be on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, along with 65 Americans, 53 Ukrainians, 51 Malaysians, 33 Britons and 25 Canadians. It was not immediately clear how many local residents were missing.
The rugged region north of Kathmandu is popular with pilgrims and trekkers. Power and communication lines have been swept away in many areas, meaning the true scale of casualties may take days to become clear.
The U.S. State Department said it is "closely monitoring the situation" and deploying a disaster response adviser, along with $500,000 in assistance through Catholic Relief Services for emergency shelter and water and sanitation aid. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the floods "absolutely devastating."
High casualty counts are also feared in Tibet, where hundreds more people are missing. Both Nepal and China have declared emergencies and are scrambling rescue teams, with Nepal asking India and China for help.
The exact cause was not immediately clear. Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche from a glacier likely triggered the flood, possibly linked to a magnitude-4.4 earthquake recorded early Wednesday about 60 miles north of Kathmandu. Researchers say permafrost thaw from climate change is destabilizing mountain slopes across the Himalaya, increasing the risk of landslides and avalanches to downstream communities.
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