🎥 ‘Extremely challenging’ conditions hamper Nepal-Tibet flood rescue efforts
With more than 1,000 people still missing after the devastating flash flood that hit Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, international rescue teams are working to locate survivors.
But, as FRANCE 24’s Navodita Kumari reports, they are facing “extremely challenging” conditions due to the weather, mountainous terrain and lack of infrastructure.
China halts rescue at Tibet disaster epicentre over flood risk
China paused a rescue operation due to the high risk of renewed flooding in Tibet where hundreds remain missing after a deadly mudslide hit the border region.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that a lake formed by immense piles of debris has begun overflowing towards the area that rescue teams were headed.
“So all rescue teams have been ordered to stand by in place and wait for further instructions,” it said, adding that emergency teams which had earlier accessed the area “have been ordered to withdraw one kilometer”.
Nepal does not need foreign rescue help with flood, foreign ministry says
Nepal does not need help from other countries to conduct search and rescue operations after a devastating flash flood wrecked towns, its foreign ministry said.
“The offer for help is natural. Our security agencies are doing the search and rescue operation. For now we don’t require such help,” Lok Bahadur Chhetri, spokesperson for the foreign ministry said.
Nepal army says working to rescue 100 people trapped in hydropower tunnel after flood
Nepali army helicopter rescue teams were working to rescue around 100 people trapped inside a tunnel at a hydropower project swamped by a devastating flood two days earlier.
“Our focus is in search and rescue of people … some people are trapped in the tunnel of Trishuli 3A hydropower project,” Nepal Army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP. The prime minister’s office said in a statement that 350 people had been rescued from the area, but that 100 more were trapped.
About 90 Americans unaccounted for after floods
US officials said about 90 US citizens remained unaccounted for Thursday, a day after catastrophic flash floods engulfed a border area of China and Nepal, killing hundreds of people. A spiritual organization said that 22 Americans associated with it were unaccounted for.
In a statement, the US State Department said it is not aware of any US deaths, but three Americans have been rescued.
Many of the missing were on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus, Buddhists and others.
Death toll in Nepal flood reaches 469, according to police
The death toll from massive flash floods has risen to 469 in Nepal, police said, as rescuers work to find hundreds of people still missing in the area on the Nepal-China border.
The previous death toll was 390 in Nepal and three in Tibet. Authorities had also reported more than 1,400 missing people in both areas from the disaster Wednesday.
Hundreds have already been rescued, Nepalese authorities said, and dozens were receiving medical treatment in the capital, Kathmandu.
At least 555 stranded tourists evacuated from Tibet
Rescuers have evacuated 555 stranded tourists from Tibet after a devastating mudslide on the China-Nepal border, Chinese state media reported.
State broadcaster CCTV said that 499 local residents, as well as 555 tourists, had been transported out of the disaster zone as of Friday morning. It did not specify the tourists’ nationalities.
China warns lake formed by mudslide on Nepal border could breach
A lake created after a mudslide hit the China-Nepal border faces a “high risk of breaching and sending floodwaters downstream”, Chinese state media reported, citing water authorities.
Water levels are expected to rise over the next three days, peaking around September 1, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The lake formed after a wall of mud and debris hit the border hub of Gyirong in Tibet on Wednesday, with hundreds reported missing.
“According to forecasts, inflows into the lake could reach about 3 million cubic metres over the next three days amid continued rainfall, increasing the risk of a breach that could send floodwaters downstream and potentially cause further damage in areas including Gyirong Port and elsewhere downstream”, state news agency Xinhua reported late Thursday.
Welcome to the France 24 liveblog covering the landslide in Nepal. Catch up on yesterday’s developments here.
