Technology and Science30 August, 20263 min read
Nepal Flash Floods From Ice-Rock Avalanche Kill 781, 2,500 Still Missing
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Death toll from Nepal-China floods rises to about 780–800 across Nepal and Tibet. More than 2,500–3,000 people remain missing, including hundreds of foreigners.
16 outlets told this the same way.
Toll climbs after flash floods
Flash floods triggered by an ice-rock avalanche following a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border killed 781 people, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said Sunday, while more than 2,500 people remained missing. OrissaPOST said bodies were recovered from eight affected districts, including 272 from Chitawan district and 199 from Nawalparasi East, as rescuers worked on the fifth day since the disaster. BBC reported that the number of bodies recovered since Wednesday had increased to 794 as of 17:45 local time on Sunday, while Nepal Police said the latest updated figure.
CNN said local police reported at least 788 people had died in Nepal and Chinese authorities reported at least 16 deaths in the country, with more than 3,000 people still missing across both countries. In Nuwakot district, BBC described how head teacher Rajendra Dawadi evacuated around 900 pupils to safety after receiving four warnings from different people within minutes.
Warnings, satellites, and tunnel rescues
BBC quoted 16-year-old Yunisha saying she escaped by surviving “just 10 seconds,” after running up a narrow and muddy route behind the school as “Within no time, the bazaar was swept away in front of my eyes”. Al Jazeera said Chinese authorities were “closely monitoring the barrier lake, located one km upstream at the port of Gyirong and the border area,” using satellites, radars, and drones, while also warning that notice of about 30 minutes could be given if the situation deteriorated. Al Jazeera reported that Nepal’s prime minister’s office said a joint team of 82 personnel—62 from the Nepali Army and 20 from the Armed Police Force Nepal and Nepal Police—had been continuously deployed since last night to expedite digging and search operations.
CNN said emergency workers had pumped air and dropped food into one tunnel but had yet to establish communication with anyone inside, as rescuers searched for more than 900 missing workers at various hydropower projects in Nepal. CBS News added that a Nepali Army official told CBS News that its search and rescue helicopters could do a combined 15 trips an hour back and forth into the disaster zone, for a total of about 500 trips per day.
What’s at stake next
With the death toll in Nepal at 781 and 2,502 people still missing, the stakes for families and responders remained immediate as rescue teams raced against time to search for those stranded and recover bodies. Al Jazeera said the risk of a second flood had prompted a temporary halt to search efforts on Friday, but operations resumed after the lake threat was deemed manageable, while Chinese authorities said the risk had been reduced but not disappeared. CNN reported that the flow of water in the Bhote Koshi River in Rasuwa, northern Nepal, was increasing early Sunday local time, and that weather officials had warned newly formed bodies of water could raise the risk of renewed torrents.
CBS News said Nepal’s disaster agency issued an alert warning that the flood flow in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa had increased further and requested caution for personnel engaged in search, rescue, and relief operations and everyone else in affected areas. BBC also reported that Nepal Police said 788 people had died following the flash floods, after an earlier NDRRMA figure of 752, underscoring how official tallies could shift as information came in from multiple agencies.