Key facts
- The death toll from flash floods in Nepal has reached 469.
- Hundreds of people, including foreign nationals, remain missing.
- The disaster was triggered by a glacial collapse near the Nepal-China border.
- Rescue operations are ongoing amid fears of a secondary flood from a newly formed barrier lake.
- Infrastructure, including homes and roads, has been destroyed.
The death toll from massive flash floods in Nepal has risen to 469, with hundreds of people still missing in the area on the Nepal-China border. The disaster, which occurred earlier this week, was triggered by a glacial collapse near the Nepal-China border. This event caused a torrent of water, rocks, and debris to sweep through river valleys, destroying buildings, bridges, and roads.
Rescue efforts are underway, with hundreds already saved and dozens receiving medical treatment. However, hundreds remain missing, including foreign trekkers and pilgrims. Fears of a secondary flood loom as a new barrier lake has formed near the China-Nepal border, holding an estimated 2 million cubic meters of water, prompting warnings of a possible dam break.
U.S. President Donald Trump described the flooding as terrible and offered U.S. assistance to Nepal. Scientists studying satellite images indicated that the collapse of bedrock beneath a glacier high in the Himalayas initiated the disaster.