Nepal-Tibet floods: What happened, what caused them and who is missing?

Nepal & Tibet flash floods: Trishuli River surges, destroying homes. By Elizabeth Melimopoulos and Reuters.

Key points

• According to The Prime Minister's Office in Nepal, 484 residents, including 391 foreign tourists and 93 Nepalis, were documented missing.
• While almost 1, 500 individuals are missing throughout Nepal and China's Tibet, including at least 800 foreign nationals, at least 160 individuals have been confirmed dead overall.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah and pledged India's backing.
• The resulting ice-rock avalanche struck the Lhende River in Tibet, regarding 20km (12 miles) northeast of the Nepal-China border crossing.
• Survivors from the badly affected Rasuwa district were evacuated by military helicopter, with some taken to hospitals in Kathmandu, including the National Trauma Centre and Bir Hospital.

On Wednesday, part of a glacier collapsed high in the Himalayas, triggering catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border.

In Nepal, 826 individuals are missing, including almost 600 foreigners, according to police and tourism office-holders. Throughout the border, Chinese state media noted that 558 individuals were missing in Tibet's Gyirong County, including 260 foreign nationals.

Here is what we know regarding what triggered the disaster, where the floods struck, and the risks facing the rapidly warming Himalayan region. What happened in Nepal?

At regarding 8: 40am local time (02: 55 GMT) on Wednesday, flash floods and mudslides swept through mountainous areas along the Nepal-Tibet border, killing at least 157 residents in Nepal and three in Tibet and leaving hundreds missing.

In practice, a massive flood of water, mud and rocks swept through the Lhende Khola river valley, engulfing villages and destroying homes and critical infrastructure. At least 19 bridges and regarding 40km (25 miles) of roads were washed away.

Nepalese soldiers and rescue teams have been deployed with helicopters, drones and search dogs, but high river levels, damaged roads and mud have complicated efforts to reach some of the worst-hit areas.

Throughout the border in Tibet, deep sediment has additionally delayed Chinese rescue teams trying to reach the border zone. What triggered the mudslide and flash floods?

Authorities were caught off-guard by the floods on Wednesday as it was not raining, according to local news editors.

For context, the disaster appears to have begun high in the Himalayas, where part of a glacier had collapsed, triggering a chain of events that caused a powerful surge of water and debris downstream.

Satellite imagery indicated that a substantial section of the lower end of the glacier broke away at an elevation of concerning 5, 200 metres (17, 000 feet), plunging regarding 1, 200 metres (3, 900 ft) onto the valley floor, gathering rock and sediment as it fell.

For context, the resulting ice-rock avalanche struck the Lhende River in Tibet, regarding 20km (12 miles) northeast of the Nepal-China border crossing. Debris temporarily blocked the river before the natural dam offered way, releasing a powerful flood downstream.

Early reports suggested that a magnitude 4.4 earthquake had triggered the collapse. Nevertheless, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) afterwards revised its assessment, saying that the seismic signal had been generated by the landslide itself rather than an earthquake. The landslide eventually registered as a magnitude 5.2 seismic event. Where exactly did the floods happen?

In practice, the disaster struck the mountainous Nepal-Tibet border region, with some of the worst damage in Nepal's Rasuwa district, immediately south of the Chinese border.

Notably, the initial surge entered the Lhende Khola. It feeds into the Bhote Koshi and then the Trishuli River, carrying floodwaters south through Nepal. Water levels in the Trishuli reportedly rose by as much as 9 metres (27 ft) in just 30 minutes.

In the Rasuwa district, Timure and Syapru Besi were among the affected settlements. Further downstream, flooding reached parts of Nepal's Nuwakot and Dhading districts, damaging homes, roads and other infrastructure.

Throughout the border in Tibet, mud and debris hit Gyirong Port in the Shigatse region.

In practice, the Trishuli eventually joins the Narayani River. It crosses into India's Bihar state, where it is known as the Gandak River. What do we know regarding the victims?

While hundreds more remain missing on both sides of the Nepal-Tibet border, at least 160 individuals have been confirmed dead. Nepal: Police have recovered at least 157 bodies.

Tibet: Authorities have documented at least three deaths in Gyirong County, where 265 residents remain missing.

"My brother-in-law had a liquor store here. I obtained a call from him this morning, and they were crying and stated their entire house had been swept away, " Raju Bhadel, a local businessman in Nepal, informed Al Jazeera.

Manoj Mishra, a teacher, described seeing vehicles and individuals being carried away by the floodwaters in Nepal. "I saw around nine trucks being swept away by the floods, including individuals. It's a heartbreaking incident, " he remarked.

According to The Prime Minister's Office in Nepal, 484 residents, including 391 foreign tourists and 93 Nepalis, were documented missing. When rescue office-holders will be able to access some of the worst affected areas, nevertheless, these numbers are anticipated to growth as more details come in and as the water recedes.

Plenty of of the foreign nationals missing are pilgrims who had been travelling towards Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus. Others were trekking around Gosaikunda Lake in Nepal's Rasuwa district during the Janai Purnima festival, an occasion when sisters tie a thread on their brothers' wrists to mark their special bond. According to authorities on Wednesday, those unaccounted for included individuals from.

Notably, the missing include South Korean workers who were working at hydropower project sites damaged by the floods.

Dozens of Nepalese security personnel involved in the response were additionally out of contact, including police and army personnel. The injured and rescued.

At least 65 individuals were being treated for injuries in local hospitals and in Kathmandu.

Survivors from the badly affected Rasuwa district were evacuated by military helicopter, with some taken to hospitals in Kathmandu, including the National Trauma Centre and Bir Hospital. How are international organisations and leaders responding to the crisis?

Countries and international organisations have offered emergency assistance, funding and technical backing as rescue operations continue in Nepal and Tibet. Humanitarian and financial aid.

India has sent a rescue aircraft carrying regarding 10 tonnes of emergency supplies to Nepal, including temporary shelters, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps and medicines.

Notably, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has published 1 million Swiss francs ($1.2m) in emergency funding to backing the Nepal Red Cross Society's relief operations and damage assessments. International coordination and satellite backing.

While its office in China has stated it is ready to assist rescue operations in Tibet, the United Nations has deployed personnel in Nepal to backing government-led relief efforts.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his condolences to those affected and remarked the organisation stood in solidarity with communities hit by the disaster.

For context, the European Union has activated its Copernicus Emergency Management Service. It uses satellite imagery to map disaster zones and provide information that can support authorities assess damage and coordinate rescue operations.

South Korea has established a administration task force after a number of South Korean nationals working at a hydropower project were documented missing. Seoul remarked it planned to send a rapid-response team involving administration, fire and police personnel to Nepal to assist with the search.

In practice, the United States and Canada have additionally stated they are carefully monitoring the situation as authorities try to account for their nationals documented missing in the region.

On the Chinese side, President Xi Jinping ordered an "all-out" search-and-rescue operation for individuals missing in Tibet and called on efforts to prevent further disasters. What role did climate change play in this disaster?

Scientists are still investigating what triggered the glacier collapse, and it is too early to determine how much climate change contributed to this specific event.

In short, nepal-Tibet floods: What happened, what caused them and who is missing? Is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.