At least 95 killed and hundreds missing after flash floods in Nepal and China

Massive flash floods in a border area ofNepalandChinaon Wednesday killed at least 95 people and left hundreds of tourists, workers and others missing after sweeping through communities and bringing travel in parts of the Himalayan country to a halt.

Officials inNepalsaid 403 people, including 341 foreign nationals were reported missing.Sunil Sharma, a Nepal Tourism Board spokesperson, said 133 missing were fromIndiaon pilgrimage toMount KailashinChina’sautonomous region ofTibet, a sacred site for Hindus. Also missing were 47 fromthe United States, 34 fromAustralia, 33 from theBritainand 24 fromCanada, he said, adding that people from at least 26 countries had been present in the affected area.

At least 62 missing Nepali citizens were among hundreds of locals trekking in the Gosaikunda lake in Rasuwa, coinciding with the Nepali festival of Janai Purnima on Friday, Sharma added.

China’sstate broadcaster CCTV said a mudslide inTibet’sGyirong County nearNepalkilled at least three people and left 265 missing, based on a preliminary count.

Nepalpolice spokespersonAbi Narayan Kafle, who gave the local death toll, also told The Associated Press that at least 28 police officials were among the missing.

Officials warned residents in several of Nepal’s districts to stay away from the banks of the Bhotekoshi, Trishuli and Narayani rivers. The Bhotekoshi flooded around9 a.m. Wednesday, destroying several villages, roads and hydropower projects, officials said.

“We have asked bothIndiaandChinato help us with the rescue efforts,” said Sasmit Pokharel, a Nepali government spokesperson.

Nepal’s steep valleys are economic lifelines and travel corridors but precarious ones when disaster strikes. Images showed what appeared to be the second floors of buildings in hard-hit Nuwakot district slathered in mud after the torrent rushed by. Debris hung from tree branches and wires, vehicles were buried and stunned survivors were caked in mud.

TheU.S. Geological Surveyreported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north ofKathmandu, near the border with China’s autonomous region ofTibet.

Though the current monsoon season is less favorable for trekking inNepal, it’s a major season for Kailash trekking inTibet, which follows the route in Nepal’s Rasuwa district bordering Tibet’s Gyirong.

Countries express alarm over missing citizens

South Korean government officials said citizens working on building a hydropower plant inNepalwere among those reported missing.

Malaysia’s foreign ministry said its embassy inKathmandureceived reports from travel agencies that they had lost contact with 11 Malaysians believed to be in the Rasuwa district, also hit hard by floods.

Chinese authorities were conducting large-scale search and rescue operations in the Tibetan border area of Gyirong, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Chinese PresidentXi Jinpingordered authorities to step up the efforts, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modispoke with Nepal’s Prime MinisterBalendra Shahand offered help. “India is prepared to provideNepalwith all possible types of humanitarian assistance. Our teams are closely coordinating on rescue and relief efforts,” Modi said on social media.

In a joint statement,Australia,Britain, the European Union,Finland,France,NorwayandSwitzerlandexpressed solidarity with the affected people inNepal., adding: “We encourage all those in affected areas to follow the guidance of local authorities and official safety advisories as the situation continues to evolve.”

The same region saw flash floods last year

The same regions saw similar flash floodsin August last year,when a glacial lake inTibetoverflowed because of high temperatures. Nine people were killed, and critical infrastructure, including a bridge connectingNepalandChina, was damaged.

Climate experts at theKathmandu-basedInternational Centre for Integrated Mountain Developmentsaid an avalanche from a glacier likely caused Wednesday’s flash flood.

The Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi, had maximum flooding Wednesday, they said.

“The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice rock avalanche from a glacier on theNepalside that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream,” saidSaswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the climate research group.

He noted the importance of early warnings in “a warming Himalaya.”

The Himalayan region, which spans several countries includingIndia, is especially vulnerable to heavy rains, floods and landslides because it is warming faster than the rest of the world due to human-caused climate change. Research shows that extreme weather events, including heat waves, rains and melting glaciers, have become more frequent.

Researchers inKathmandufound earlier this year that glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region are melting at an accelerating rate, with ice loss rates doubling since 2000, primarily due to rising global temperatures and climate change.