Police in Nepal say the death toll from flash floods in a border area with China has reached 157.
Officials have said hundreds of people are missing, including workers and tourists.
Earlier, China’s state broadcaster CCTV said a mudslide in the Tibet region’s Gyirong County near the border killed at least three and left 265 missing.
Climate experts have said an avalanche from a glacier likely caused Wednesday’s flash flood.
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.
Many missing were on pilgrimage to a sacred site
Officials in Nepal said 403 people, including 341 foreign nationals, were reported missing. Sunil Sharma, a tourism board spokesperson, said 133 were from India on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. Also missing were 47 from the United States, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 24 from Canada, he said. The State Department said it was aware of Americans affected.
In a statement to 1News, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the New Zealand High Commission in New Delhi was in contact with authorities in Nepal to seek information about New Zealanders who may have been affected.
"All New Zealanders in Nepal should follow the advice of local authorities at all times, including any evacuation orders," they said.
"New Zealanders in Nepal should also let their family and friends know that they are safe when they are able to."
At least 62 missing Nepali citizens were among hundreds of locals trekking in the Gosaikunda Lake area in Rasuwa, coinciding with the local festival of Janai Purnima on Friday, Sharma added. Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle told The Associated Press at least 28 police officials were missing.
Officials warned residents in several districts to stay away from the banks of the Bhotekoshi, Trishuli and Narayani rivers. The Bhotekoshi flooded around 9am Wednesday (local time), destroying several villages and hydropower projects, officials said. At least 19 bridges were swept away.
“We have asked both India and China to help us with the rescue efforts,” said government spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel.
The US Geological Survey had reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday, about 100 kilometres north of Kathmandu, near the border with China’s autonomous region of Tibet.
Though the current monsoon season is less favourable for trekking in Nepal, it’s a major season for Kailash trekking in Tibet, which follows the route in Nepal’s Rasuwa district bordering Tibet’s Gyirong.
Countries express alarm over missing citizens
South Korean government officials said nine citizens working on building a hydropower plant in Nepal were among those reported missing. Malaysia’s foreign ministry said its embassy received reports from travel agencies that they had lost contact with 11 Malaysians believed to be in Rasuwa district. Russia’s embassy in Nepal said four citizens reportedly in the affected area were missing.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah and offered help. “India is prepared to provide Nepal with all possible types of humanitarian assistance. Our teams are closely coordinating on rescue and relief efforts,” Modi said on social media.
Some United Nations bodies were deploying “in an effort to meet what will clearly be massive humanitarian need,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
In a joint statement, Australia, Britain, the European Union, Finland, France, Norway and Switzerland expressed solidarity with people in Nepal, 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
Climate experts at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said an avalanche from a glacier likely caused Wednesday’s flash flood.
“Hydrological observations indicate the exceptional speed and magnitude of the flood wave,” they said in an emailed statement, noting that water levels at one point on the Trishuli river rose by as much as nine metres over half an hour.
The Lhende Khola River, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi, had maximum flooding, they said.
“The Lhende Khola has flooded twice in 14 months, this time triggered by an ice rock avalanche from a glacier on the Nepal side that blocked the river and released a sudden surge downstream,” said Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk reduction specialist at the climate research group.
He noted the importance of early warnings in “a warming Himalaya”.
The region saw similar flash floods in August last year, when a glacial lake in Tibet overflowed because of high temperatures. Nine people were killed, and critical infrastructure, including a bridge connecting Nepal and China, was damaged.
The Himalayan region, which spans several countries including India, is especially vulnerable to heavy rains, floods and landslides because of warming due to human-caused climate change. Research shows that extreme weather events, including heat waves, rains and melting glaciers, have become more frequent.
Researchers in Kathmandu found 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.
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