A minimum of 162 people in Nepal’s Rasuwa district near the Nepal-China border are dead, and hundreds are missing after massive flash flooding has ravaged the region. Search and rescue efforts have been stepped up as rescuers delve into flooded valleys, mud and debris covered sites along with settlements damaged by the floodwaters.
The disaster was caused by a sudden surge in the Lhende and Bhotekoshi river system, and experts believe that the flooding is not due to the normal monsoon rains but is related to an ice-and-rock avalanche or glacial collapse. The high storm surge claimed lives and property, roads, and bridges in the impacted area.
Thousands of armed personnel are deployed by Nepal to help the rescue mission. Teams are flying helicopters and drones over areas that have been impossible to access by road or bridge, due to devastation.
Foreign nationals who were in the area at the time of the disaster are also being traced. Those who are said to be missing include tourists, pilgrims, and workers from a number of countries, which is heightening the emergency rescue effort.
Flooding has resulted in significant impacts to transportation and other critical infrastructure. Clusters of houses in the Rasuwagadhi border area have been destroyed, besides the extensive damage of hydropower plants and connecting roads as well.
There are still hundreds reported missing, and the deaths are likely to mount once rescue workers reach remote villages, authorities said. Emergency-response teams are still moving out survivors, giving food, water and medical care and trying to locate those stuck in debris from the flooding. The event has also spurred new fears about the potential vulnerabilities in the Himalayas to sudden glacier and climate change events.
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