What you need to know
Thank you for joining our coverage of the deadly flash floods in Nepal and Tibet. Here’s what you need to know:
Warning: This story contains graphic content.
- Thirty-four Australians are among hundreds of people reported missing after an avalanche of ice and rock triggered massive flash floods that swept through parts of Nepal and China yesterday. Two boys aged 11 and 14 are among a group of 15 Australians who were travelling together through the region with a US-based tourism operator when the catastrophic floods hit. The entire travel group is yet to be accounted for.
- Nepalese police said the death toll had reached 162 people. Neighbouring China has reported at least three people killed. Nearly 1500 people, including 800 foreigners, are missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet, authorities said this afternoon. Officials in Nepal said more than 400 tourists are unaccounted for, including from Australia, India, the US, UK and Canada.
- The deadly flooding was likely set off at least in part by an enormous chunk of ice snapping off a glacier and cascading thousands of feet to the valley below, according to an initial assessment by a group of geologists and glaciologists, in a phenomenon known as an ice avalanche.
- Significant casualties were reported at the Gyirong Port, on the border between China’s Tibet and Nepal. Surveillance footage (below) shows crowds running up a road near the port before torrents of water and thick clouds engulf the car park and surrounding buildings, destroying the area. Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered an “all-out” search-and-rescue effort to find survivors.
Read more on the Nepal flood disaster:
Non-profit founder desperately trying to locate 14 missing Sydneysiders
An Indian-Australian community leader says he is desperately trying to locate 14 missing Sydneysiders in Nepal, many of whom he counts as close friends.
Vasan Srinivasan, the chief executive officer of the Mental Health Foundation Australia, said 14 of the 34 missing Australians were Sydney-based members of a non-profit organisation he founded called the Australia Bharatha Brahman Samajam. They travelled to Nepal to participate in a pilgrimage organised by the Himalayan Glacier tour group.
“I’m trying by every means to track them down,” Srinivasan said.
“We are all very distressed and trying to track them. I’m just praying.”
Srinivasan has held several senior community roles, including president of the Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria and vice president of the Hindu Society of Victoria.
He said those missing worked in various professions, including the financial industry, and many were his close professional friends.
China flags upstream risk
Chinese authorities have identified a risk from a dammed lake upstream from the border between the Tibet region and Nepal that could complicate rescue efforts, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has reported.
A wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river near Gyirong at the Himalayan border crossing yesterday, triggering a flash flood that killed scores of people downstream in Nepal, left hundreds missing and washed away houses, roads and power projects.
China’s Ministry of Water Resources has increased monitoring and assessment of the lake, at the intersection of the Chhochen Khola and Purepu Tsangpo rivers north-east of the disaster site, to support rescue activity and prevent secondary events, CCTV reported.
Reuters
Number of missing at nearly 1500, including 800 foreigners
Nearly 1500 people, including at least 800 foreigners, are missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet after Wednesday’s catastrophic floods, authorities said this afternoon.
Almost 600 foreigners are among 826 people missing in Nepal, police and tourism officials said, along with local residents, tour guides and security and government personnel.
The tally of missing in Tibet’s Gyirong county stood at 558, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said, including 260 foreign nationals.
Police said they expected the death toll to rise beyond 165.
“This will go up, as we have resumed the search and more bodies are expected to be recovered,” police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said.
Reuters
Missing Australian identified as Melbourne father
One of the 34 Australians reported missing after the flash flood in Nepal has been identified as a father from Melbourne’s east.
Kumar Sampath, 61, was on a pilgrimage to the Tibetan Mount Kailash with more than a dozen other Australians from Sydney, his son Mani confirmed to this masthead.
“He’s a hardworking, successful entrepreneur who came to Australia with nothing and provided his family with everything they wanted,” Mani said.
“He loved hiking, nature and recently retired and wanted to explore his faith.”
Sampath was one of 15 missing Australians on a tour run by Himalayan Glacier Adventure and Travel. He ran an engineering business specialising in railways before he retired.
His family is hopeful he will be found alive.
Influencer recounts travels in now-destroyed Nepalese trekking region
Last November, Melbourne travel blogger Travis Fein was buying treats for Nepalese children in the small village of Syabrubesi, ahead of his solo trek up the Langtang Valley.
This morning, Fein woke up to images of the guesthouse where he once stayed razed by the flash flooding.
“It’s all gone,” Fein said.
Footage recorded by Fein in Syabrubesi shows him buying lollies and instant noodles for local children at a small store by a dusty road, and patting their puppy Ronaldo, named after Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.
Syabrubesi, among the areas worst affected by the flooding, is a popular overnight stay for hikers wanting to embark on the multiday walk up the Langtang Valley. Most guesthouses and hotels in the area sit by the river bank.
“It’s a beautiful part of the world, but you’re at the mercy of nature out there,” Fein said. “Landslides are consistent and can be devastating.”
Death toll at 162, more than 200 Nepali nationals missing: reports
According to Nepal Police, the death toll from the catastrophic flooding in Nepal has risen to 162, with more than 400 people unaccounted for, the BBC reports.
Reuters reported the 162 figure earlier today.
More than 200 Nepalese nationals are missing, about 80 of them from various security forces posted in the affected area, according to statements from government agencies, The New York Times reported.
Police said more than three dozen people who were rescued were receiving treatment at hospitals in Kathmandu and the Rasuwa district, near where the flooding occurred, CNN reported.
According to CNN, more than 3000 police workers are helping with search and rescue operation, officials said. Mountainous terrain, poor weather, blocked roads and a lack of connectivity in the hard-hit areas are all affecting rescue efforts, CNN reported.
India issues flood alert after Nepal deluge
India has put parts of two of its northern states on high alert as floodwaters from neighbouring Nepal head towards the border, while dozens of its citizens are among tourists missing in the Himalayan nation.
The missing Indians are the largest group of foreign tourists affected, according to the Nepalese tourism board, which estimates about 142 of the missing are Indian nationals. Many of them are pilgrims travelling towards Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. India hasn’t released a number for the missing yet.
The disaster is also threatening communities downstream in India.
The country’s Central Water Commission warned a sudden rise in Nepal’s Trishuli River, about 160 kilometres from the Indian border, could travel downstream into the Gandak, a major river that crosses into India and runs through the densely populated state of Bihar before joining the Ganges.
“State governments of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have taken measures such as required evacuation and other support to local Indian communities near the India-Nepal border,” according to a statement. “Both states have been advised to remain alert and maintain close monitoring of the situation.”
Bloomberg
Hundreds of foreigners missing in Nepal floods
Hundreds of foreign nationals are missing in the Nepal floods that have killed at least 157 people and left more than 400 unaccounted for, according to Nepalese authorities.
Nepal is a popular travel destination for hikers and climbers, with the mountainous nation hosting some of the world’s highest peaks, including Mount Everest.
- About 111 people missing were suspected to be foreign nationals but have yet to have their nationalities confirmed, the Nepal Tourism Board said.
- At least 142 Indian nationals were unaccounted for, according to the Nepal Tourism Board. They were reported to be travelling in the country with several tourism agencies.
- At least 47 US citizens are missing, the Associated Press said, citing a Nepal tourism board spokesperson.
- The Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said 54 Malaysians were unaccounted for, with efforts underway to locate them.
- Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry told BBC News Ukraine that 53 Ukrainian citizens were missing as a result of the flash floods, citing information from Nepalese authorities. The ministry added that there was no information indicating the Ukrainian citizens were among the dead or injured, and it had been receiving messages from relatives of the missing, the BBC reported.
- 24 Canadians were missing, a spokesperson for Nepal’s embassy in Canada said.
- Twelve people from the United Kingdom were missing, according to the tourism board.
- Nine South Koreans who work on a hydroelectric power plant in the region were missing, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said.
- Japan’s embassy in Nepal was unable to establish contact with five of its citizens and had requested that a search be conducted to locate them, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a post on social platform X.
- China puts the number of missing at 558 including 260 foreign nationals. The number of people confirmed dead by Chinese authorities remains at three. However, it is unclear whether these casualties relate to victims on China’s Tibet side of the border, or whether they overlap with the estimates released by Nepalese police.
- The New York Times reports that citizens from the Netherlands and South Africa are also among the missing.
With Reuters.
US pledges $700k in aid to Nepal, Canada PM offers support
The US has promised $US500,000 ($696,000) in aid for emergency shelter, relief items, water, sanitation and hygiene assistance to flood-affected areas.
The US State Department said it was “closely monitoring the situation and was deploying a disaster response adviser to the region to support response efforts”.
“The United States extends its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the devastating flash floods in the Rasuwa district of Nepal.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected by this disaster.”
At least 47 Americans are reportedly among the hundreds of people missing.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the floods as “absolutely devastating”. He said on X that Canada was closely monitoring the situation and stood ready to provide support.
China’s Red Cross sends thousands of boxes of supplies
The Red Cross Society of China has sprung into action and is sending 2500 sets of relief supplies to the disaster zone in Tibet, including tents, medical kits, folding beds and waterproof jackets, Chinese state media reported.
The Red Cross has also sent 5000 boxes of food supplies, including bottled water, instant noodles, sausages, and milk.
