Nepal floods toll climbs to 626, nearly 3000 missing
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The death toll from a devastating flash flood in Nepal and China’s Tibet has risen to 626 as search and rescue operations were suspended due to bad weather.
Rescue workers have been working around the clock since Wednesday’s disaster after a glacier collapse unleashed a huge torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris through Himalayan mountain river systems as it swallowed buildings, bridges and power stations in its path.
Nearly 3000 people are still missing – about 2426 in Nepal and at least 558 in Tibet’s Gyirong County – many of them Hindu pilgrims from India.
Of those missing in the disaster, at least 540 are foreigners, including 41 Australians.
Only on Friday were rescuers able to reach Gyirong. State media reported the Chinese team of 21 rescuers and a search-and-rescue dog crossed mountains and valleys and used ropes to navigate forests and cliffs after roads to the complex, hemmed in by steep Himalayan slopes, were destroyed.
Authorities suspended rescue operations on Saturday because of rain and foggy weather, Narendra Pariyar, the top bureaucrat for the badly hit Rasuwa district, told Reuters.
More than 90,000 people are estimated to have been affected by the disaster, the Red Cross said.
The flooding led to the formation of a lake, which on Friday began overflowing into the Lhende Khola and Trishuli rivers.
The overflow sparked panic and warnings from authorities in Nepal, leading to rescue operations being suspended for about three hours. The risk prompted all Chinese rescue personnel and vehicles to withdraw as well, CCTV said.
Both resumed rescue operations after the threat eased, with Nepali officials saying that they were still hopeful of finding survivors.
Nepal is continuing to monitor two barrier lakes upstream of the flood zone, with an official warning that flood risks will persist until both lakes fully drain.
Satellite imagery showed the second lake growing larger with no visible outlet, raising concerns that water pressure could still be building.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said the first barrier lake was reducing in size, citing analysis by the water resources ministry.
A Chinese government geohazards expert warned, however, the lake may be unstable and that more than 100 glacial lakes scattered throughout the area could pose a threat.
Wednesday’s flood ripped through villages and valleys, destroying power stations, roads and bridges along a route that links Kathmandu with Lhasa in Tibet and is popular with trekkers and pilgrims.
Ten bodies were found in three places in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in rivers that flow down from Nepal, police told Reuters on Friday.
Earlier, Nepalese rescue teams used helicopters to search for survivors and drop emergency supplies to thousands cut off in towns and valleys.
Dibga Tamang was among the last people rescued from Rasuwa, airlifted along with three others to an army camp in Nuwakot.
“All of our people have gone. They are dead,” Tamang said.
“I have no one left waiting for me. Everything and everyone is gone. The end.”
A large number of people arrived at an army base in the area seeking information about missing and dead family members. Bodies were brought into the barracks and lists of rescued people were posted outside. Around the world, relatives of those missing were desperate for information.
The United Nations and its partners were scaling up relief supplies, with 20,000 households estimated to need food assistance and more than 50,000 people emergency water and support, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
While offers of search-and-rescue assistance are pouring in, Nepal said it does not need help from other nations.
A South Korean rapid response team in Kathmandu has not been deployed because Nepal does not have a plan to accept foreign rescue yet, the foreign ministry in Seoul said.
with DPA and AP
Reuters