At least 18 people have been killed and nearly 400 others remain unaccounted for after a flash flood and mudslide along the Nepal-Tibet border swept away villages and caused extensive damage to roads and other infrastructure, reports BBC.
The disaster struck early on Wednesday in Rasuwa, north of Nepal`s capital Kathmandu. Preliminary information suggests that an earthquake triggered an avalanche, sending melted snow into the Bhote Koshi river and causing the flash flood.
Search and rescue operations are continuing on both sides of the border, with 88 people rescued so far, according to the Nepalese army.
State media in China, which controls Tibet, reported significant casualties, while Nepalese officials warned that the disaster could result in a "huge scale loss".
The Nepal Tourism Board said efforts were under way to determine the whereabouts of 291 tourists and 93 Nepalese nationals, including guides, who were known to be in the affected area.
Among those unaccounted for are 12 travellers from the UK, as well as tourists from the United States, Malaysia, South Africa and India.
Several areas downstream of the Bhote Koshi river, which flows from Tibet into Nepal, have been placed on high alert. Roads, communications and electricity supplies in the region have been disrupted, while authorities said the main road to Kathmandu has been closed.
Verified videos from Nepal show a bridge being swept away by floodwaters and multi-storey buildings collapsing under the force of the flooding. Other footage shows a town with numerous buildings destroyed.
BBC Verify located the videos to the Trishuli Bazaar area of Nuwakot District in Bagmati Province, about 25km (16 miles) north-west of Kathmandu.
The footage shows the Trishuli river suddenly swelling with enormous amounts of water. The river appears to have increased significantly in both volume and speed, carrying large quantities of sediment.
About 40 seconds into the video, the force of the flash flood tears a bridge from its supports and carries it rapidly downstream. Several buildings collapse just seconds later.
A second verified video, filmed from the same location, shows the aftermath. The river has risen considerably, while trees and many buildings seen in the earlier footage have been swept away.
The exact number of buildings destroyed remains unclear, but many structures along the riverbank have disappeared, partially collapsed or been covered in sediment.
Yee Liang, a Chinese businessman based in Kathmandu, told the BBC that his logistics company had seven container trucks in the affected area, operated by Nepalese employees.
"We have lost contact with all of them. There is no signal, so we cannot reach anyone," he said.
"As far as I know, there was no warning. There were occasional mudslides and landslides, especially in the rainy season, but this one seems much more serious."
Nepal Army spokesman Rajarm Basnet told the BBC that rescue efforts were under way to reach 115 people in the village of Mailung.
The Nepalese Ministry of Home Affairs warned that there was likely to be a huge loss of life in Timure, Syabrubesi and Betrawati. The flooding also damaged the Trishuli hydropower project.
The scale of destruction on the Tibetan side remains unclear. The BBC spoke to Guan Daoxuan in Sichuan province, who said he had lost contact with his wife late on Wednesday morning.
His wife works for a state-run construction company involved in building roads and bridges in Tibet. Guan said Nepalese authorities had attempted to send a helicopter to assess the area after roads were cut off, but strong winds were preventing the aircraft from reaching the site.
Nepal`s disaster management authority urged people living near riverbanks in vulnerable areas to remain alert and take precautions.
"Work has started to take necessary steps in co-ordination with the medical team, scouts, and Red Cross," Prime Minister Balendra Shah said in a social media post after holding an emergency meeting to assess the situation.
Nepal`s Foreign Affairs Minister Shishir Khanal told parliament that 26 police personnel, nine armed police officers and 44 members of the military were missing.
He said an earthquake at 08:37 local time had triggered an avalanche and that preliminary information indicated the avalanche caused the flash flood.
Rasuwa experienced deadly flooding last year when a glacier burst on the Chinese side of the border, killing 18 people.
Officials told the BBC that they believe Wednesday`s disaster is even larger in scale than last year`s floods.
Source: BBC
-20260826082211.png)
-20260825070038.webp)
-20260826073100.jpg)
-20260824112248.jpg)
-20260823124453.webp)
