At least 160 people have died and 34 Australians are missing after flash floods swept through Nepal following a catastrophic glacial landslide.
The office of Nepal's Prime Minister confirmed the death toll on Wednesday as emergency teams searched for 579 people who remain unaccounted for across the Himalayan region. Of those missing, 466 are foreign nationals from 28 different countries who were visiting the area near the Nepal-Tibet border.
Officials from the Nepal Tourist Board confirmed that at least one of the missing Australians was travelling with Kathmandu Holiday Tours & Travel when the disaster struck.
The disaster began on Wednesday morning when a landslide struck a high mountain slope, triggering the collapse of a colossal section of glacier. The impact sent a devastating torrent of water, ice, and debris surging into the valley below.
Terrifying video footage showed a huge wave erupting over the banks of the Bhote Koshi River, engulfing nearby trees and homes within seconds. As the torrent surged around a bend in the river, thick clouds of mist and spray rose above the settlement before floodwater quickly covered a main road and swept across adjacent fields.
Glacier Collapse Triggers Devastating Flood
Dozens of people were filmed running for their lives across open fields as the wall of water and mud bulldozed its way through buildings, decimating the settlement and destroying bridges along its path.
Scientists initially believed an earthquake had triggered the ice avalanche, but seismic readings were later clarified to have been caused by a landslide.
Dr Daniel Shugar, an earth scientist and professor at the University of Calgary, said the disturbance caused a 2,000ft-wide chunk of ice to break clean off and fall more than a kilometre to the valley floor. He explained that the glacier mixed with a landslide to create a rapidly moving mixture of water, ice, and rock.
"The bottom looks like a bomb exploded - it's just deposits from the broken-up glacier," Shugar told The New York Times. He added that the ice fall alone could not explain the "gargantuan volumes of water that we see in these, these absolutely horrific videos."
The flooding also caused destruction across the border in Gyirong, in the Tibet region of China, where a wall of mud and water destroyed buildings in the valley. Satellite images from August 25 and August 26 captured the dramatic change in the river valleys near the Nepal-China border before and after the floodwaters hit.
Australian Government Responds to Missing Citizens
Officials from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) are urgently working to verify the welfare of missing Australians in the area.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by the significant flooding in Nepal and Tibet, China," a DFAT spokeswoman told the Daily Mail on Thursday. "Australians in the affected area should follow the advice of local authorities. We are aware of a number of Australians in the area and Australian officials are urgently working to confirm their welfare. We are liaising with local authorities as well as tour operators."
Foreign Minister Penny Wong added: "The loss of life and destruction caused by flash flooding in Nepal and China is devastating. Our thoughts are with the loved ones of those killed or missing and all affected by this disaster. DFAT officials are urgently working to confirm the welfare of Australians in the area."
Australians needing emergency consular assistance have been advised to contact DFAT's 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 if calling from overseas.
Survivors Recall Moments of Destruction
Survivors recovering in hospitals shared harrowing accounts of the sudden inundation.
Bibek Kumal, a 24-year-old Nepali labourer, was digging a five-foot toilet pit outside a new house on Wednesday downstream from the worst-hit Rasuwa district when he heard a hissing sound. His four co-workers standing above shouted at him to run and fled the scene.
"I started running. Then a wall of water came thundering down as if it was an earthquake," Kumal said from his bed at Kathmandu's National Trauma Centre. The torrent swept him downstream through mud and debris until he became lodged in a tree. "Had there been no mango tree, I would have been washed away to death."
Keshav Prasad Baral, 68, who was treated at a local hospital, described watching a massive wall of mud rush toward his home. "It was a huge gush of mud coming straight towards us. As it got closer, it kept rising higher and higher," Baral said. "When I saw it enter our home, I tried to grab my wife's hand and take her to the terrace. But she was swept away by the mud. Four or five hours later, a helicopter came to rescue me. My wife is still somewhere beneath the mud. She's gone."
Helicopter Rescues Stalled by High Waters
Aman Budathoki, a pilot who witnessed the flood from the air, told CNN he saw waves that were up to 20ft tall. "About five minutes before landing, we could see dust rising from the river," Budathoki said. "At first instance it looked as if it was a landslide. We even guessed if it was the army using explosives for building roads."
The Nepal Army has deployed 14 helicopters and disaster response teams to conduct rescue and relief operations across the affected region.
However, floodwaters remain too high for aircraft to land in Nepal's worst-affected areas of Syapru Besi and Timure in Rasuwa district, a mountainous area with a population of about 50,000. Army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet confirmed that rescue helicopters will be unable to land until the waters recede.
In Nuwakot district along the Trishuli River, rescuers used construction vehicles and JCB excavators to transport survivors to safety and assist residents in Trishuli Bazar, where houses lie partially submerged in muddy water.
The disaster occurs amid growing concern over climate change in the region. Earlier this year, researchers at a Kathmandu research group reported that glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region are melting at an accelerating rate, with ice loss rates doubling since 2000 primarily due to rising global temperatures.
