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Nepali officials say bridges, roads, power stations, and entire villages have been swept away by the flash flooding with some areas still completely cut-off from search and rescue
Confirmed
In Short: Flash floods in Nepal have swept away bridges, roads, and entire villages, leaving hundreds of tourists and residents unaccounted for.
Nepali officials report that flash flooding has caused significant damage, including the destruction of bridges, roads, power stations, and entire villages, with some areas still cut off from search and rescue efforts.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism stated that around 579 tourists, predominantly foreigners, and 28 police personnel are missing. Climate justice activist Prayash Adhikari described the floods as 'devastating,' wiping out buildings, schools, bridges, and highways.
Local resident Baral recounted his harrowing experience, describing how floodwaters entered his home and swept away his wife. Editor Kosh Raj Koirala noted that many people were caught off-guard as there was no heavy rainfall, and rescue helicopters could not land in the mountainous district of Rasuwa due to high water levels.
The Nepal Electricity Authority reported that approximately 430 megawatts of production capacity, including hydropower and solar facilities, have been damaged. Neighboring India has begun evacuating people from six districts in anticipation of the floods reaching their area.
What's confirmed
- In Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged “all-out” efforts to search for the missing, and called for strengthening monitoring and early warning systems to prevent secondary disasters.
- The official Xinhua news agency said the mudslide hit China’s Gyirong Port, cutting off roads, communications and power in the Shigatse region.
What's still developing
- Nepal’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism said some 579 tourists – more than 400 of them foreigners – were unaccounted for following the flash floods.
- Nepalese authorities did not provide a figure for residents in affected areas who are still missing, but police spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle said that 28 police personnel were unaccounted for.
- The floodwaters struck villages and towns in the path of two rivers, Bhote Koshi and Trishuli, and television images showed collapsed homes, floating cars, and a metal bridge being washed away.
- Prayash Adhikari, a climate justice activist in Nepal, said the “devastating” flood had wiped out “whole villages”.
- “Hundreds of people are missing,” Adhikari told Al Jazeera from Kathmandu, saying the waters had wiped out buildings, schools, bridges and highways.
- “It was a huge gush of mud coming straight towards us. As it got closer, it kept rising higher and higher. 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…
- Many people were caught off-guard when the flash floods hit as there was no heavy rainfall, said Kosh Raj Koirala, an editor of Republica Daily, an English newspaper in Nepal’s capital.
- “[People] were at home … several houses have been washed away, swept away by the river,” Koirala told Al Jazeera.