The EU has joined international efforts to send aid after catastrophic floods on the Nepal-Tibet border left at least 168 people dead and more than 1,300 missing.
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A wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river near Gyirong on the Tibet-Nepal border on Wednesday, triggering a flash flood that swept through towns and villages and washed away houses, roads and power projects.
At least 165 people have been reported dead – 162 in Nepal and three in Tibet. Nepal’s disaster agency said on Thursday that 826 people were unaccounted for, including at least 579 Nepali and foreign tourists.
Hikers and climbers from around the world travel to Nepal to climb some of the world’s highest peaks, including Mount Everest. The French foreign ministry said 80 French nationals had registered their presence in Nepal and that other French people travelling through the country could also be in the affected areas.
Search for the missing
“The top priority is to mobilise all available resources to search for and rescue missing people, evacuate and relocate residents in danger, provide prompt medical treatment to the injured and minimise the number of casualties,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said, state media reported.
The Chinese president does not usually comment on disasters unless the death toll is significant.
Chinese authorities have mobilised more than 1,500 personnel.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Nepal said it had released just over €1 million in emergency funds to support rescue operations and provide drinking water and supplies including blankets, first-aid kits, stretchers and body bags.
International aid
The European Union has activated its Copernicus satellite system to support rescue efforts and said it was ready to provide further blockistance.
Neighbouring India will provide military helicopters to help search and rescue operations and has sent 10 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including blankets, solar lamps and medicines.
The flooding appears to be linked to a collapsing glacier.
Nepal’s foreign minister initially said an earthquake may have triggered a landslide that blocked the Lhende Khola river and sent water downstream. The US Geological Survey later said the seismic activity was actually caused by a glacial collapse and debris flow.
Collapsed glacier
The flooding “was caused by an avalanche of ice that fell into the Lhende River, but its exact cause remains to be confirmed,” Qianggong Zhang, a scientist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Kathmandu, told AFP.
Water levels in the Trishuli river, downstream from the blockage, reportedly rose by as much as nine metres in just 30 minutes.
The blockage is still there and could cause further flooding.
(with newswires)
