Disaster
Death toll from Nepal-China floods tops 1,000 as thousands remain missing
More than a thousand people have died in a series of devastating floods in Nepal and neighbouring China, officials said Tuesday, while search efforts continued for thousands unaccounted for eight days.
Nepal’s disaster management agency said 987 people were dead and 3,916 were still missing, including 583 foreign nationals. Chinese authorities said that they had confirmed 16 people dead with 546 others missing in Tibet, bringing the overall death toll to 1,003.
The floods started last Friday when a glacial collapse occurred upstream on August 26th and sent a cascade of rocks and ice downstream along the border separating Nepal and China, washing away villages, bridges, roads and a hydroelectric project.
The missing include many visitors, along with pilgrims and labourers who were caught in a flash flood.
Rescue operations are difficult because of treacherous ground and damaged roads. There was also the persistent danger of more landslides, floods and rock slides occurring again.