A massive tsunami has swept away entire villages in the border region between China and Nepal. Family members are desperately searching for the missing, while rescue teams from several countries are on the scene.
Image: Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo/picture alliance
Following the devastating flash flood in the border region between Nepal and the Chinese region of Tibet, the number of people missing has risen rapidly. According to authorities, more than 1,300 people are currently missing, including several hundred foreigners. Many deaths are expected.
Image: Prabin Ranabhat/AFP
A massive flood wave surged through the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers in Nepal at tremendous speed. The floodwaters first struck the northern district of Rasuwa. They then spread over more than 160 kilometers as far as Chitwan, near the Indian border. According to initial findings, the disaster was triggered by a glacier calving.
Image: Prabin Ranabhat/AFP
More than 5,000 rescue workers are on the scene. In Nepal alone, according to police and tourism authorities, more than 800 people are missing, including nearly 600 foreigners from more than two dozen countries. In Tibet, according to Chinese state television, more than 550 additional people have been reported missing. Nearly one-third of them are from other countries.
Image: Navesh Chitrakar/REUTERS
Helicopters delivered tents, food, and other relief supplies from India to the areas hardest hit. The United Nations also sent personnel and relief supplies. The United States pledged $500,000 and the deployment of a disaster relief advisor.
Image: Arun Sankar/AFP
In hospitals and relief centers, family members are desperately searching for missing friends and relatives. In some communities, up to three-quarters of the population is considered missing. Among the victims of the disaster are also numerous tourists and travelers, as the affected region is considered the gateway to Langtang National Park, one of Nepal’s most important trekking areas.
Image: Sabrina Dangol/REUTERS
Nepal is one of Asia’s poorest countries, with particularly fragile infrastructure in its remote Himalayan regions. Severe weather often damages roads, bridges, and transport links. Rasuwa District is a key corridor to Tibet and an important gateway for pilgrims traveling to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, which sees particularly high traffic at the end of August.
Image: Sunil Pradhan/Anadolu/picture alliance
The extent of the damage is immense, and the survivors are in shock: “There are no human-made things, no human settlement left.
Everything is just flat,” said the head of a tourism company after a helicopter flight over the disaster area
Image: Prakash Mathema/AFP
“I’ve never seen a flood like this,” reports an eyewitness. For everyone who was traveling on Wednesday in the Rasuwa border region between Nepal and Tibet, the disaster turned into a nightmare scenario. Many relatives have little hope that those missing will be rescued alive from the mud-covered rubble.
Image: Navesh Chitrakar/REUTERS8 images1 | 88 imageshttps://p.dw.com/p/5JUNs
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