Nepal-Tibet: Flash flood on Nepal-Tibet border kills more than 150, with hundreds of tourists missing

Image source, Getty Images

Nepalese authorities initially believed that an earthquake had caused the flash flooding on the Nepal-Tibet border, but authorities have since confirmed that it was actually triggered by a landslide.

“Additional analysis of long period seismic waves indicate that the seismic energy was instead generated by a landslide,” says the US Geological Survey.

Officials with Nepal’s department of meteorology and hydrology have told the BBC that a massive chunk of ice may have collapsed from a mountain, pulling down rocks and other sediments with it.

While climate change is known to be contributing to glacial melt in the region, scientists say it’s still too early to know if it played a role in this specific event.

Other factors being considered include whether any glacial lakes suddenly drained or whether the river became blocked – as well as data on recent rainfall.

These pictures show the extent of flood-damage in the Nuwakot area of Nepal, after a flash flood swept through the Bhotekoshi River.

There is widespread damage to infrastructure in the area, including to homes, roads and bridges.

It’s currently 05:00 in Nepal, so we can expect new images in the next few hours.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

UN Secretary General António Guterres says he is “saddened by the severe flooding” that has “claimed many lives, left people missing, and caused widespread destruction” in Nepal and China.

He offers his condolences to the victims’ families and sends his well wishes to those who were injured.

“My solidarity is with all those affected,” he says, adding that UN teams and partners are mobilising supplies and personnel in Nepal to support the government-led response.

The disaster continues to unfold as the loved ones of those who remain missing search for them.

The BBC Nepali’s Shreejana Shrestha visited a hospital in Kathmandu, where some survivors were being flown in by helicopter for treatment.

Families were gathered outside the hospital with the hope of finding their loved ones.

Ram Kumari Shrestha said she is searching for her husband, who was off to Rasuwa as part of his driving job. She said she has not heard from him since a night earlier.

The missing include more than 100 from India, 54 from the US, and 33 from the UK, as well as more than 100 from Nepal itself, according to Nepal’s tourist board.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry has told BBC News Ukraine that 53 Ukrainian citizens are currently missing as a result of the flash floods at the Nepal-Tibet border, citing information from Nepalese authorities

The ministry adds that there is no information indicating the Ukrainian citizens are among the dead or injured, and it has been receiving messages from relatives of the missing.

Katie Williams
Live reporter

Image source, EPA

More than 150 people are dead after a flash flood hit the Nepal-Tibet border earlier on Wednesday, affecting an area popular with pilgrims and trekkers. Here’s the latest:

Over 500 tourists are missing in Nepal, including more than 100 from India, 54 from the US, 33 from the UK, and more than 100 from Nepal itself.

In Tibet, at least three people have been killed and 265 are missing, according to Chinese state media.

Authorities initially thought an earthquake caused the flooding, but it is now believed that a landslide triggered the seismic activity.

The entire nation is “shocked and deeply distressed”, says Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah. One trekking guide in Nepal’s Rasuwa region tells the BBC he is praying his missing sister will be found alive.

Dramatic video footage shows thick brown water surging through the landscape, splitting bridges in two and leaving destruction in its wake.

At the Gyirong border crossing, CCTV footage shows people running for their lives before a wall of water slams into the building.

The number of casualties could continue to climb over the coming days, as the true scale of the disaster emerges.

Simon Atkinson
BBC News

The Australian government says that “a number of Australians” were in the flood area, in its first official response to the disaster in Nepal.

It hasn’t confirmed a specific number of Australian citizens among those reported missing.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by the significant flooding in Nepal and Tibet, China,” a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says.

“We are aware of a number of Australians in the area and Australian officials are urgently working to confirm their welfare,” the statement continues.

It adds that the Australian government is working with local authorities and tour operators, and is ready to offer consular assistance.

Image source, Getty Images

The manager of a tour company has been fielding “thousands” of missed calls from the families of a dozen Britons who are missing from one of its excursions across the Nepal-Tibet border, the Press Association (PA) reports.

The operator has separately told the BBC that they attempted to charter a rescue helicopter earlier but were unable to fly due to the poor conditions.

PA reports that four of the firm’s Nepali tour guides are also missing, with the manager, Kumar Adhikari, saying he was in contact with the guides until 08:40 when they were expected to be at Tibet’s immigration office, but their phones were disconnected.

“We were hoping that inside it was safe,” he told PA, “but later the video came from China’s government which [showed] even Tibet’s side was hit by the flood.”

Adhikari says he is “slowly responding to” the families of the Britons but has been unable to give them any updates, adding he has been in contact with the British consulate and forwarded them copies of the clients’ passports.

“I feel so sad. We are just thinking about what to do next,” Adhikari said. “We are in pain at the moment, deep pain.”

Among the missing British nationals are three men aged 65, 64 and 52, and seven women aged 44, 47, 51, 60, 63, 63 and 65, according to travel logs obtained by the Press Association.

Further information about them, including their names, has not been given.

Nepal police have so far confirmed that a total of 33 British nationals are unaccounted for in the country.

Image source, Getty Images

We’ve heard from several countries about the flooding in Nepal, as the country reports that more than 150 people have been killed in the disaster. Hundreds of tourists are among the missing, including 33 from the UK.

Here’s what we’ve heard:

• India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says his country is “prepared to provide Nepal with all possible types of humanitarian assistance”
• US: The State Department says it is “in touch with the Government of Nepal” and “stand[s] ready to assist”
• EU: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the EU is ready to “mobilise further European assistance”
• UK: Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband says the UK’s consular team is “working with local authorities on the emergency response and to support those affected”
• Canada: Prime Minister Mark Carney says the country “stands ready to provide support to Nepal”
• Pakistan: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says he is “deeply saddened” by the disaster and that his “heartfelt sympathies are with the bereaved families and all those affected by this tragedy”

Phanindra Dahal
BBC Nepali, Kathmandu

The area hit by the flood is home to two different high-altitude lakes that are also pilgrim sites revered by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains – Lake Mansarovar near Mount Kailash in Tibet, and the Gosaikunda lake in Nepal’s Rasuwa district.

Tens of thousands of tourists make their way through Nepal to Lake Mansarovar annually.

This is the time of the year people, especially Indian tourists, tend to visit Lake Mansarovar, as well as take a sacred dip in the Gosaikunda lake.

Pradeep Pandit, the managing director of Alpine Kailash Trek, tells me it is a hugely popular route and tourists do it around this time of the month, when they can see a full moon, which is considered auspicious.

Authorities in New Zealand say they are still trying to establish if any Kiwi travellers are missing in Nepal.

“All New Zealanders in Nepal should follow the advice of local authorities at all times, including any evacuation orders,” says a spokesperson for the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“New Zealanders in Nepal should also let their family and friends know that they are safe when they are able to.”

The UK embassy in Nepal is advising British nationals affected by the floods to follow guidance from local authorities and to “remain alert to the changing situation”.

“We are working closely with the Nepalese authorities following concerning reports of British nationals who are missing,” Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Baroness Winterton adds in a statement.

Image source, Reuters

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada “stands ready to provide support to Nepal” after the deadly flash floods.

“The flash floods along Nepal’s Bhotekoshi River are absolutely devastating,” he writes on X.

Canadians are thinking of all those in distress right now, those who have lost a loved one, and all those who are still waiting for answers.”

He adds that he is asking Canadians in the region to register their presence in the region as soon as possible

A tourism board spokesman in Nepal says that 24 Canadians have been reported missing.

Videos show people scrambling uphill to escape flash floodpublished at 19:44 BST 26 August

19:44 BST 26 August

By Emma Pengelly and Charlotte Green

Warning: this post contains distressing content

More videos continue to emerge from the flash flood on the Nepal-Tibet border. The latest videos confirmed by BBC Verify show people trying to escape the floodwaters by climbing hillsides near the village of Betrawati in Nepal.

In the first verified clip, more than a dozen people can be seen fleeing uphill through trees, as the flood surges through the valley.

Within seconds, the raging water engulfs houses which have been built along the Trishuli river, as people continue to scramble uphill.

The second video shows the moment the flood sweeps through Betrawati itself. A line of people can be seen climbing a hillside as water engulfs the village, many crying out in distress.

Image source, X

The true scale of the disaster and the number of casualties is still emerging, after a flash flood tore through villages on the Nepal-Tibet border.

Here’s the latest from Azadeh Moshiri, our South Asia correspondent:

Image source, Reuters

The World Health Organization’s operation in Nepal has “mobilized and dispatched essential emergency medical supplies”, according to its director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

He says “selfless” rescuers have his “greatest respect and gratitude”.

It follows an earlier post on X, in which the organisation said it was providing “medicines” and “multipurpose tents”.

The UN agency also said it was committed to “monitoring public health risks”, “strengthening disease surveillance”, and ensuring communities could continue to access essential healthcare services.

An Indian government official says the country has sent 10 tonnes of aid to Nepal to assist with the emergency response.

“Our thoughts are with the bereaved families and all those affected.

In face of this challenge, India stands with Nepal and its people,” says the country’s external affairs minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in a post on X.

Shared alongside this are photos of aid being loaded onto aircraft destined for Nepal.

Image source, X/@DrSJaishankar

Image source, X/@DrSJaishankar

Image source, X/@DrSJaishankar

Image source, LightRocket via Getty Images

The office of Nepal’s prime minister says search and rescue efforts by the country’s army will continue overnight.

In a statement, it says 1,697 personnel have been deployed, while a further 656 have been kept on standby for additional operations.

Six military helicopters rescued 94 people during the day, while five civilian helicopters rescued 12 others. Ground teams rescued a further 27 people, it says.

The office also says 800kg of tents and 200kg of medical supplies were delivered to the affected areas.

A large number of people stranded above Timure will be evacuated by air Thursday morning, the office adds.

Mark Poynting
Climate and science journalist

Initial reports from Nepal had suggested that an earthquake may have triggered the ice avalanche and landslide.

The US Geological Survey, which studies earthquakes, has now said that further analysis indicates “that the seismic energy was instead generated by a landslide” by itself.

Landslides or avalanches can have various triggers. One possibility is that water – either from rainfall or melting ice – may have destabilised the ground or ice.

Climate change is known to be driving faster glacier melt in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, but scientists say it is too soon to pinpoint its role in this specific event.

In a steep, mountainous and glaciated region like Nepal, hazards often act in chains, with one hazard increasing the chances of another one occurring, says Martha Day, a hydrological researcher at Imperial College. Scientists are now trying to piece together the order of events.

They’ll be looking at satellite images of exactly where the landslide occurred, whether any glacial lakes suddenly drained, and where the river might have become blocked – as well as data on recent rainfall.