Flash Flood Devastates China-Nepal Border Region
The flood, centered on Nepal's Rasuwa District and China's Gyirong County, killed at least 160 people, with 900 still missing.
A devastating flash flood along the China-Nepal border has claimed at least 160 lives, leaving nearly 1,000 people missing. The disaster struck Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, including the trade center Syabrubesi at the border. On the Chinese side, Gyirong County in Tibet bore the brunt of the flood. The calamity began at 8:40 am on August 26, just three minutes after a magnitude 4.4 earthquake hit in Tibet.
This triggered a massive landslide, sending a mix of rocks and ice from a Himalayan glacier into the Lhende River in Tibet, known locally as the Bhotekoshi. The overflow led to catastrophic flooding downstream as the river breached its banks. According to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, satellite imagery revealed that a debris-laden flood entered the Lhende River following the glacial-rock slide, around 20 kilometers northeast of the Rasuwagadhi border point.
The flood then flowed through Timure before entering the Trishuli River. The exact cause of the disaster remains unclear, with speculation pointing towards a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). With the Himalayan region facing accelerated glacial melt due to climate change, GLOFs have become increasingly common. In 2023, a similar event in India’s Sikkim killed over 100 people, while an even more devastating flood in Uttarakhand in 2021 claimed more than 200 lives.
As of now, 95 bodies have been recovered, with many unidentified, and hundreds are still missing, including 85 security personnel, 60 individuals linked to hydropower projects, and 484 tourists (391 foreigners and 93 Nepalis), including 100 from India, many on a religious pilgrimage, 47 from the United States, and 33 from the United Kingdom.
Rescue efforts are ongoing, with over 200 people rescued so far, and search and rescue operations still underway. China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, initially reported only three deaths, but 265 people remain missing. Both China and Nepal are struggling to coordinate accurate information, with neither side having contact with security personnel along parts of the border.
The lack of timely communication may have exacerbated the disaster's impact. Chinese President Xi Jinping has directed authorities to intensify search and rescue efforts, relocate threatened populations, and provide immediate medical care to minimize casualties.
Written by urgent.news from The Diplomat's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
