Nepal has intensified rescue and recovery operations after a catastrophic flash flood and landslide along its border with China left hundreds dead and thousands missing.
The disaster occurred on Wednesday along the Bhote Koshi River in the mountainous Rasuwa district, near Tibet. Nepalese authorities reported 734 deaths and 2,498 people missing, while China confirmed 16 deaths and 546 missing on its side of the border.
The Nepalese government has deployed nearly 20,000 security personnel and rescued more than 8,000 people, including 270 people who had been trapped at various hydropower projects.
China has also mobilised more than 2,000 rescue workers, who have evacuated 499 people from villages considered at further risk.
Rescue teams are facing difficult conditions because of damaged roads and communication networks, while rising water levels in the Bhote Koshi River could make recovery operations even more dangerous.
Nepal’s disaster management authorities have warned security personnel to exercise extreme caution as water levels continue to rise.
Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the government was intensifying rescue, search and relief operations and that Indian and Chinese experts were working alongside the Nepalese army.
Chinese officials said they believe the landslide may have been triggered by an unstable glacier on the Nepalese side of the river basin. They linked the glacier’s instability to the long-term effects of climate change.
Nepal is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters because it lies along an active Himalayan fault and contains numerous mountains and glacial lakes. Heavy rainfall can rapidly raise river levels, increasing the risks of floods, landslides and mudslides.
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