Top News

The flood struck on Wednesday morning, devastating Timure and Syabrubesi in Rasuwa, home to around 50,000 people, before racing downstream through Nuwakot towards Dhading.

At least 177 are believed to be killed, and around 400 tourists, many of them foreigners, are missing.

Markets, homes, infrastructure, roads, bridges and hydropower projects have been damaged or swept away, with officials still trying to establish the full scale of the damage.

The Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have been mobilized for search and rescue operations, while army helicopters and medical teams have been deployed.

Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said heavy rainfall in Rasuwa did not appear to be responsible. Experts suggest that an earthquake which hit the area before the floods had triggered a massive ice-rock avalanche.

CCTV on the China-Nepal border shows massive, deadly floodwaters engulfing Gyirong Port, with the powerful torrent of mud and floodwater sweeping through the crossing in Xizang on Wednesday.

Trail of destruction: Hundreds remain missing after deadly Nepal flash floods

Local authorities said the disaster was triggered by a mudslide on the Nepalese side of the border. Three people were confirmed dead and 558 remained missing as of Thursday morning, while two villagers had been rescued.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered all-out search and rescue efforts, with authorities activating the country’s second-highest emergency response level. Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing travelled to the area to oversee the response.

Over 1,000 rescue and engineering personnel were deployed, while 220 million yuan (US$32.7 million) and 30,000 relief items were allocated to the response, according to local media.

In neighboring Nepal, a landslide of mud and rock crashed into the Lhende River, unleashing catastrophic flooding that swept away homes, roads and infrastructure, killing at least 98 people while hundreds remained unaccounted for.